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.4?/ orders promptly plied. Address : 

T. B. SVISLLS & CO., Little Rock, Ark. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1876, by T. B. Mills, in tlie office of tlio Librarian 
of Congress, at "Wasliington, D. C. 




■t^LE ROCK. ^RK. 




usiness in all its braiiehes ; Dealers in Municipal Bonds and 
ties; and Pnblishers of tlie "SPIRIT OF ARKANSAS," 
irkansas and Texas Advertiser.") Send for a copy. 



EXPLANATION 



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L O U I S I A N A 



EXPLANATION 

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A HISTORY 



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ARKANSAS. 



A SHOET SKETCH OF ITS INCEPTION AND THE EOUTES TEAVELED OVBE, THE 

MAJSnsTEE m WHICH THE EDITOES WEEE EECEIVED, THE EESOLUTIONS 

ADOPTED AND SPEECHES MADE AT VAEIOUS POINTS. THE 

VIEWS OF THE EDITOEIAL VISITOES TO AEKANSAS, 

AS EXPEESSED IN THEIE PAPEES. 



T. B. MILLS & CO 




LITTLE ROCK: 

T. B. MILLS & CO., PUBLISHEES. 

1876. 



F A (J 

.fiU 







Resolutions unanimously adopted b}'- the members of the 
Editorial Excursion who ^dsited Arkansas in September, 1875 : 

Whereas, Having accepted the kind invitation extended by Col. J. M. 
Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the Iron Mountain and South- 
ern Railroad Company,and Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, to 
the press of the Northwest to visit the State of Arkansas, and having 
viewed its lands, conferred with its people and shared its hospitality, it 
becomes us to let our voice be heard; therefore, be it 

Besolved, That the State of Arkansas, in "turning its back upon the 
past and looking forward to the future, forgetting all that is behind and 
pressing forward to the high mark that is before," has taken the highest 
rank in the sisterhood of States, and not only shown its loyalty to the old 
flag, its love for our common country and its desire to share one common 
destinv, but also its true realization of the fact that brotherly kindness 
will make A.rkansas— with her delightful climate and untold wealth in its 
broad acres— one of the garden spots of America, to which the weary, 
hard-working, frost-bitten farmer of the IsTorth can turn with the hope of 
future comfort and happiness. 

2. That we cheerfully commend the State of Arkansas to all in search 
of comfortable homes, knowing that her millions of acres are just as in- 
viting, that life and property are just as secure as in anv other State of the 
Union, and that a friendly greeting is awaiting all who may visit her towns 
or settle within the confines other great commonwealth. 

3. That our thanks are due and are hereby tendered to the Hon. 
Thomas Allen, A. W. Soper, Esq., Hon. J. M. Loughborough, T. 
B. Mills & Co., Col. G. P. C. Rumbough, the El Paso Stage Company, 
the Independent Stage Company, and the people of Little Rock, Hot 
Springs, Arkadelphia, Malvern, Walnut Ridge and others, who have, 
without reserve, enabled us to see all and judge for ourselves as to the 
advantages of their State; and we do not hesitate to declare our firm con- 
viction that Arkansas is now one of the most inviting of our States for 
agricultural, mining and manufacturing pursuits. 

That portion of the excursionists who traveled east on the 

Memphis and Little Rock Railway also adopted the following 

resolution : 

Besolved, That the thanks of the representatives of the press be hereby 
extended to Capt. W. E. Smith, Superintendent, and Col. M. B. Pritch- 
ARD, General Manager of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, for 
placing a special train at our disposal to enable us to view that portio'n of 
the State east of Little Rock; and to H. L. Taggart, Conductor, and 
Thos. Hooper, Engineer, for their efforts to make o'lr journey one of 
pleasure ; and that we also feel deeply indebted to the citizens of Lonoke 
Carlisle and Forrest City for courtesies extended to us. . ' 

Those who went westward over the Little Rock and Fort 
Smith Road adopted the folloYing : 

Besolved, That the heartfelt thanks of the Editorial Excursion from 
the Northwest are hereby tendered to the Little Rock and Fort Smith 
Railroad Company, to Hon. W. D. Slack, their Land Commissioner and 
Capt. Theo. Hartman, Superintendent, for their generous courtesies of 
a free train, an elegant repast, and their unremitting attention to render 
our visit pleasant. We also tender our warmest appreciation to Messrs 
T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, for their efforts contributing to our 
enjoyment; also to the people along the line of this road for many kindly 
attentions, for which we wish them unbounded prosperity for the future. 



CHAPTER I. 




gRKANSAS has "been the least known, and the most systematically mis- 
represented State, of the entire Union. Her soil, barren in some 
particular localities, in the greater part exhibits a richness and fertility 
not excelled — perhaps not equalled — upon the American Continent. Beside the 
valleys of the Arkansas, White, and St. Francis rivers, that of the Nile might 
almost be declared sterile, in the comparison. Her uplands produce grains and 
grasses which challenge the competition of the teeming States of the Northwest. 
Her mountains are capped by plateaus on which the papaw and the grape — sure 
indices of productive power — flourish in such luxuriance as is known, elsewhere, 
only upon the bottom-lands of streams furnishing an annual overflow. Upon 
the highlands of the Ozark, apples are grown, and cider pressed, which rival 
the products of New Jersey and New York. Her peaches and melons, in the 
first year of systematic cultivation, drove from the markets of St, Louis the 
fruit of Illinois and Indiana. Her cotton carries the premium over that of any 
other State of the Southwest. Her timber, in the opinion of competent judges, 
will in ten years furnish the navies of Europe and America with their best 
material. Her untold wealth of mineral resources, the rumors of which 
attracted the adventurous footsteps of De Soto before Smith had laid the 
foundations of Jamestown, or the Rock of Plymouth had been pressed by the 
Puritan, still proffer their scarce-touched treasures to the hand of capital. Her 
climate is that of Italy. Her vast area, and the interposition, in the center of 
her territory, of the great mountain range which divides the Northern from the 
Semi-Tropical Zone, affords such variety of products as California alone can 
equal. Her people, restless, as a population of brave men of necessity are and 
ought to be, under the hand of oppression, under their own rule have proved as 
orderly and law-abiding a community as honors the soil of any sister common- 
wealth. Her self-chosen rulers have shown themselves possessed of a wise 
conservatism, a generous and far-sighted liberality, and an energy and progres- 
sive spirit which encourages and protects that immigration which alone is needed 
in order to raise her to the full measure of her deserved prosperity. • 

With these advantages, it may seem strange that the reputation of the State, 
in every respect, has suffered at the hands of popular opinion in other sections 
of the country. The explanation is readily furnished. At the time of settlement, 



2 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Arkansas was a wilderness, farther removed, to all practical intents, from the 
centers of civilization, than Alaska now is. As always happens where the 
law, by reason of the scattered condition of population and the imperfect 
organization of authority, is necessarily powerless, its administration fell, at 
first, into the hands of the people themselves ; and such administration of law 
is subject to sore abuse. An unfortunate and desperate rencontre between two 
members of the Legislature gave the cue to the cheap wits of the press ; and 
from that day to this it has been the fashion, with them, to locate every apocry- 
phal back- woods story in Arkansas, and to fill up the foot of a column with a 
scurvy jest at her expense. The practical remoteness of her territory, till 
yesterday untraversed by railroads, and the chance by which, even after the 
construction of railroads, the traveler was ushered to the Capital through the 
least inviting lands of the State, assisted in keeping the world in ignorance of 
hea* actual resources and true character. Then, as the crowning misfoi'tune, 
came a period of years during which it was the interest of parties possessing 
the ear of the press and of the country, to misrepresent, most grossly, the social 
condition of her people. 

With the close of that period, with the revival of peace, security, and the 
industry which only security can justify or create, began an earnest and organ- 
ized effort, on the part at once of the State authorities and of private 
enterprise, to diffuse more just information respecting our social character 
and material resources. In direct contradiction of statements so industriously 
cu'culated thitherto, the intelligent public sentiment of our entire community 
turned, for the prospects of prosperity, to immigration, and especially to immi- 
gration from among the thiifty population of the Northwestern States. The 
dkect road to the encouragement of immigration was through the advertisement 
of our actual condition and capabiUties. 

It was with this view that the firm of T. B. Mills & Co., conducting an 
extensive real estate agency at Little Rock, undertook the pubhcation of the 
Spirit of Arkansas, a large newspaper entu-ely devoted to the publication of 
the resources of the State. Of this paper, thousands of copies were monthly 
distributed throughout the States of the Northwest. Carefully prepared arti- 
cles, showing the incomparable cheapness and fertility of the lands of the State, 
the singular variety of its products, its wealth in timber and in minerals, 
the mildness of its climate, and the orderly character and hospitable sentiments 
of its people, induced inquiry among its host of readers. Numbers of home- 
seekers visited us, and returned delighted with what they saw. Their accounts 
brought others among us as visitors ; until there grew up in most sections of the 
Northwest a general desire to know more of Arkansas. 

The question then arose as to the best means of affording and giving circu- 
lation to the information so desired. Upon consultation with Col. James M. 
Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railroad Co., it was determined, the proper co-operation from railroad lines 
being first secured, to invite the editors of a large number of the papers of the 
Northwestern States to visit Arkansas in a body, and to make to th'iir readers 
such report as they might see fit. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 



THE INVITED GUESTS. 3 

Railroad Company at once cordially endorsed the proposition, and lent to it its 
hearty co-operation, both in the proffer of free transportation from St. Louis 
and back, and in sharing with Messrs. Mills & Co. the other expenses of the 
occasion. The other railroads leading to the Capital, the Memphis & Little 
Eock, and the Little Rock & Fort Smith, also offered trains, and ever}^ facility 
to be desired. 

The arrangements thus completed. Col. Loughborough (acting for his road) 
and Messrs. Mills & Co., issued invitations to 400 newspapers, to send their 
representatives to St. Louis, on the 28th of September, 1875 ;' thence to be 
conveyed upon their journey by a special train of Pullman cars. Transpor- 
tation to and from all portions of the State was offered to the visitors. A 
supplementary circular was issued by T. B. Mills & Co., explaining that the 
transportation to and from all points would be furnished without charge to the 
travelers, and that they would be treated as the guests of the various towns and 
cities visited after leaving St. Louis. 

On the day designated, there were in St. Louis, in response to the invita- 
tion, the following named -gentlemen, representing the papers named with them 
respectively : 

E. C. PEIBER, of St. Louis, California Democrat, San Francisco. 

F. O. WADSWORTH, In Door and Out, literary journal, Indianapolis. 
W. J. CRAIG. Banner, Bluffton, Ind. 

SAM. F. WINTER, Democrat, Huntington, Ind. 
H. H. ROBINSON, Gazette, Fort "Wayne, Ind. 
J. N. GRESS, Democrat, Kokomo, Ind. 
P. S. PARKS, Bepuhlican, Martinsville, Ind. 

E. B. Mcpherson, Flaindealer, Wabash, Ind. 

H. N. skinner, Vedette, weekly, and Messenger, daily (two journals), Vnlparaiso, Ind. 
W. B. CHEW, Press, weekly, Lawrenceburg, Ind. 
CORTEZ EWING, Press, weekly, Decatur, Ind. 

D. W. CHAMBERS, Courier, weekly. New Castle, Ind. 

J. S. BUSER, Independent Press, weekly, Bunker Hill, Ind. 

A. J. LAUGHLIN, Star, weekly. Green Castle, Ind. 
J. M. D. HAYS, Banner, weekly, Green Castle, Ind. 

F. T. HOLLIDAY, JSfews, daily, Indianapolis, Ind. 
CLIFF M. BROOKE, Mail and Magnet, Plymouth, Ind. 
J. M. JACKSON, Daily Times, Peru, Ind. 

WM. R. NEWMYER, Daihj Advance, Pittsburg, Penn. 

G. W. COLLINGS, Patriot, Rockville, Ind. 
DR. H. C. COATES, Messenger, Valparaiso, Ind. 

B. F. MEYER, Times, weekly, Chenoa, 111. 
MILTON McCLURE, Enquirer, weekly, Carlinville, 111. 
R. W. ALLEN, Herald, weekly, Washington, 111. 

PETER FIFER, of Washington, 111., Times, of Pekin, weekly. 

A. M. SWITZLER, of Washington, 111. 

E,. G. ALLEN, Transcript, daily, Peoria, 111. 

GEORGE F. CODD, Land Owner, Chicago. 

THOMAS S. NEWMAN, American Bee Journal, monthly, Chicago, Hi. 

E. N. HILL, Inter-Ocean, Chicago. 
SIDNEY THOMAS, Literary Monthly, Chicago. 

F. C. McCLENTHEN, Times, Chicago. 

C. AUG. HAVILAND, Gem of the West, literary, Chicago. 

J. R. MOSSER, Eepublican, daily, Decatur, 111. , • 

S. S. JACK, Tribune, daily, Decatur, 111. 

HENRY E. EVAETS, representing the Beview, Girard, 111,, and Journal, Nil wood, HI. 



^ THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

S. p. TUFTS, Democrat, weekly, Ceutralia, 111, 

EDWARD GOODMAN, Standard, representing the Northwestern Baptist, Chicago. 

D. J. EASTMAN, Enterprise, weekly, Slieldon, 111. 

B. F. MANN, Constitution, weekly, Elyria, Ohio. 

W. H. FISHER, Bepublican, semi-weekly, Elyria, Ohio. 

J. K. BARND, Ame7-ican Patron, Findlay, Ohio. 

ALFRED F. MATHEWS, North Ohio Journal, weekly, Painesville, Ohio. 

F. J. OBLINGER, Commercial, daily, Toledo, Ohio. 

H. S. CHAPIN, Sunday Journal, weekly, Toledo, Ohio. 
GEORGE F. MARSHALL, Sunday 3Iorning Voice, Cleveland, 0. 
P. V. C. THILLY, Volksfreund, daily, Cincinnati, O. 
J. A. DACUS. Bepublican, St. Louis. 

C. E.' STOKES, Enterprise, weekly. Dexter, Mo. 

S. M. MARKLE, Herald, daily, St. Joseph, Mo., and Birmingham, (England) Post. 

CHAS. G ATZWBILER, St, Charles, Mo., Monthly Gossip and St. Charles Cosmos, ^yeck\y. 

GEORGE W. BUCKINGHAM, Gazette, daily, St. Joseph. 

JOSEPH E. WARE, Mines, Metals and Arts, St. Louis, and Ware's Monthly Magazine. 

R. W. McMULLEN, Democrat, weekly, Hillsboro, Mo. 

W. G. DILTS, Begister, weekly, Ironton, Mo. 

MAJOR GEORGE W. GILSON, Globe- Democrat, St. Louis. 

CAPTAIN J. A. RUDD, Times, St. Louis. 

H. S. HASCALL, Neivs, Newport, Ark. 

J. F. GUIWITS, Midland Farmer, St. Louis. 

ERNEST P. OLSHAUSEN, Westliche Post, daily, St. Louis, 

N. L. PRENTISS, Commonwealth, daily, Topeka, Kas. 

JACOB STOTLER, News, weekly, Emporia, Kas. 

W. S. BURKE, Leavenworth (Kansas) Herald. 

H. B. CHURCH, Blade, daily, Topeka, Kas. 

R. A. BEAL and wife, Courier, weekly, Ann Arbor, Mich, 

DR. JAMES STIMSON, Michigan Farmer, Detroit. 

WILL H. WILLIS, Gazette, weekly, Springfield, Ohio. 

U. D. COLE, Herald, weekly, Huntington, Ind. 

REV. W. A. CLARK, Observer, daily, Elkhart. Ind. 

W. A. AYEBBER, lotoa State Journal, daily, Des Moines. 

W. KRIPPENSTAPEL, editor and publisher Volksblatt and Omnibus, daily, Louisville, 

Kentucky. 
CHARLES JONAS, editor of the Sclavie, oldest Bohemian paper in the United States, 

Racine, Wis. 
W. H. BISHOP, editor of the daily Commercial Times and Journal of Commerce, 

weekly, Milwaukee, Wis. 
FRED W. WILLARD, Commercial, Leavenworth, Kas. 
J. THRALL, Zeit2ing, weekly, Belleville, 111. 

G. W. WEIPPIERT, Zeitung, daily, Muscatine, Iowa. 

Messrs. Loughborough and Mills were in St. Louis to receive their guests, 
and at nine o'clock on the evening of the 28th of September they were escorted 
to the depot of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, where a 
special train, consisting of four Pullman palace, one passenger and one baggage 
car, was in readiness for the party. On this train the editorial excursionists 
were soon embarked and rapidly speeding southward under the watchful care 
of their hosts, assisted by Col. Thomas Essex, Assistant Land Commissioner, 
Col. W. S. Hered, Col. Logan H. Roots and Col. E. N. Hill, of Little Rock. 

The object of this book not being to give our own impressions, but to collate 
and lay before the public those of the visitors and the manner of their reception, 
we shall merely give an outline sketch of the trip, with the comments made by 
the various papers represented. 



CHAPTER II 




TO AND AT LITTLE ROCK. 



|NCE started, the first thing to be done was to assign to each guest his 
quarters, which was speedily accomplished, as the train rushed rapidly 
along the banks of the great father of waters, placidly illuminated by 
the moonlight. Before midnight most of the party were soundly sleeping, as the 
train sped on its way through Missouri. A bright, beautiful day ushered the party 
into Arkansas, giving promise of a pleasant trip. An excellent breakfast was found 
waiting the arrival of the train at Walnut Ridge, which is in Lawrence count}', and 
thirty miles from the State line. At eight o'clock the train was off for Little 
Rock, stopping a few minutes at Newport, where Mr. H. C. Hascall, editor of the 
Newport News, joined the party. The first demonstration of welcome was at 
Judsonia, in White count}', where the United States flag smd some banners 
appropriately inscribed were waving over a crowd of ladies and gentlemen 
assembled on the platform. Here the Hon. Benjamin Thomas, President of 
Judsonia University, a large and flourishing Baptist institution of learning, came 
on the train and gave the visitors full information of the condition of his section. 
At Kensett, Col. Jake Frolich, of the Searcy Record, and Mr. R. H. Fielding, of 
the Western Baptist, were added to the party. At 2.20 P. M. the train arrived 
at Baring Cross, on the north bank of the Arkansas river, where the shops of 
the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company are situated, and 
all on board examined the beautiful cabinet constructed by some of the workmen, 
of native Arkansas timbers. Fourteen kinds of timber, namely, ash, beech, 
bois d'arc, cherry, cedar, cypress, gum, holly, hickory, oak, poplar, sassafras, 
yellow pine and walnut, were used in the making of this cabinet, and it is a 
marvel of beaut3\ 

As the train approached the Union Depot at Little Rock, at two o'clock on 
the evening of the 29th, the inspiriting strains of a band playing a welcome 
greeted the visitors, whilst hundreds of the leading citizens of the beautiful 
" city of roses " were on the platform waiting to receive and do honor to the 
representatives of the Press of the Northwest. It had been arranged that the 
editors should be the guests of citizens during the day, and should be formally 



6 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELEKS. 

received at a banquet at nine o'clock in the evening. Carriages were in waiting, 
and the following named gentlemen each took a part of the guests to their houses 
for dinner: Messrs. R. B. Gress, 0. S. Warren, C. S. Collins, John Stoddard, 
"VY. H. Winfield, S. L. Griffith, Geo. N, Walkley, Geo. B. Preston, Geo. E. 
Dodge, Wm. E. Woodruff, Jr., W. S. Davis, L. W. Coy, J. N. Smithee, Geo. W. 
Clark, M. W. Benjamin, E. W. Kimball, Thos. Lafferty, J. H. Haney, T. W. D. 
Yonley, Zeb. Ward, John King, R. W. Worthen, John McClure, Will. J. Murphy, 
Joe Wolf, Dr. McAlmont, John Wassell, S. R. Harrington, Sol. Clark, W. W. 
Wilshire, Geo. H. Hyde, Gen. Churchill, Gen. R. C. Newton, J. H. Cherry, 
J. R. Eakin, Sam A. Wiggins, A. W. Bishop, J. M. Loughborough, G. R. Far- 
quhar, H. T. and E. W. Gibbs. 

In the afternoon the visitors were shown about the cit}^, visiting the State 
House, Arsenal, the grand display of agricultural products collected by T. B. 
Mills & Co., and other objects of interest. All of those who had not before 
seen " king cotton " on his native heath were taken to cotton plantations, in 
the rich lowland near the city, and viewed the process of " cotton-picking." 
At nine o'clock they were assembled at Concordia Hall, where a banquet had 
been prepared. 

Assembled to receive them were the city officials, consisting of Hon. John G. 
Fletcher, Ma} or ; Judge R. S. Yerkes, City Judge ; Hons. T. D. W. Yonley and 
E. P. Whipple, City Attorneys ; Mr. Louis Ran, City Clerk ; Mr. John L. Hicks, 
City Treasurer ; Col. W. J. Murphy, Chief of the Fire Department ; Mr. J. M. 
Blocker, Chief of Police ; Col. Arnold Seyburg, City Engineer ; and Aldermen 
George Reichardt, James Cook, J. Wolf, M. Hilb, G. W. Johnson, A. Hager, 
Wm. S. Davis, G. W. Thompson, M. Hickey, Ph. Pfeifer, D. G. Fones, A. L. 
Rush. The State officers present were General T. J. Churchill, State Treasurer ; 
Genef al R. C. Newton, Commander of the Militia ; Hon. W. R. Miller, Auditor ; 
Hon. J. N. Smithee, Land Commissioner; Hon. J. R. Eakin, Chancellor; Hon. 
E. H. English; Chief Justice; Adjutant General C. H. Wood; Hon, Gieorge E. 
Dodge, Centennial Commissioner, and Hon. U. M. Rose of the Finance Board; 
United States Senators Powell Clayton and S. W. Dorsey, and Congressman 
W. W. Wilshire were also present. The United States Army officers stationed 
at the Arsenal, Major S. A. Wainwright, Lieutenants Fred. Rozencrantz, T. W. 
Morrison and E. Cushman, all of the 16th Infantrj^, with the Hon. John McClure, 
ex-Chief Justice; Col. Henry Page, ex-State Treasurer; Hon. John G. Price, 
ex-Speaker of the House ; Hon. S. R. Harrington, United States District Attor- 
ney ; Hon. Sol. F. Clark, General Albert W. Bishop, Hon. M. W. Benjamin, 
Hon. John Wassell, Hon. W. E. Woodruff, Sr., Col. R. A. Howard, Major T. 
W. Newton, Major Wm. E. Woodruff, Jr., Hon. C. S. Collins, the Right Rev. 
Edward Fitzgerald, Bishop of Little Rock ; Right Rev. H. N. Pearce, Episcopal 
Bishop of Arkansas; the Rev. Dr. Tupper, Rev. D. Block, Col. Zeb. Ward, 
Major John D. Adams, General B. S. Johnson, Col. S. H. Tucker, Dr. S. B. 
Dodge, Dr. W. W. Adams, Dr. P. O. Hooper, Dr. J. H. Lenoo, Dr. F. M. 
Chrisman, Dr. E. S. Jenning, Dr. A. L. Breysacher, Dr. J. J. McAlmont, Dr. 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 7 

W. H. Naulty, Mr. S. L. Griffith, Gen. H. A. Pearce ; Messrs. Theo. Hartman, 
George W. Hughes, H. C. Costello and J. W. Gay, of the Little Rock & Fort 
Smith Raih'oad; Messrs. M. B. Pritchard, R. K. Dow and J. D. Darden, of the 
Memphis & Little Rock Railroad; and Messrs. Geo. H. Meade, A. M. Crow, H. 
B. Stuart, Thos. B. Stout, A. H. Sevier, Lee Worthington, C. H. Cole, H. B. 
Dow, S. E. Blackburn, E. C. Newton, H. C. West, A. P. Curry, Charles Pencil, 
T. R. Welsh, R. E. Kernes, Booker Worthen, Isaac Pariera, L. Loeb, L. M. 
Levy, L. Volume, M. S. Weider, J. P. Henry, J. N. Brodie, C. T. Walker, R. 
A. Dowdle, J. W. Faust, N. Erb, J. Erb, E. Thuemler, E. Sanders, P. T. Smith, 
S. N. Marshall, J. PL Haney, R. W. Worthen, John Stoddard, W. H. Winfield, 
O. S. Warren, R. B. Gress, Geo. B. Preston, J. N. Walkley, L. W. Coy, Geo. 
W. Clark, Thos. Lafferty, G. W. Kimball, John King, J. C. Coates, S. A. Wig- 
gins, L. A. Pratt, W. H. Hallett, George H. Hyde, J. H. Cherr}', George A. 
Hughes, and some others were also present. All these gentlemen, with the 
excursionists and those who accompanied them, at 9.20 were ushered into Con- 
cordia Hall, where a splendid banquet was prepared. It was one of the largest 
and grandest ever given in the Southwest, 

The spacious hall was decorated with the stars and stripes on every side. 
On entering the room, the motto "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword" first 
struck the eye. Over the orchestra was hung the handsome likeness of Mayor 
John G. Fletcher ; to the left of him Col. " Sandy" Falkner, deceased, the old 
original Arkansas traveler ; on the right, Major W. J. Murphy, Chief of the Fire 
Department. On the east side, in quotations, were the words " Young Man, 
go West," the sentence pointing south, of course, meaning via Little Rock. 
The decorations were put up under the direction of Lieut. Eugene Cushman, 
United States Army, and Mr. Edward Dwyer. The splendid music was fur- 
nished by the Little Rock Cornet Band, Al. Cunningham, leader, there being 
twelve pieces. 

The feast was presided over by Col. J. M. Loughborough, who in a few felicit- 
ous words introduced Gen. R. C. Newton to the guests, as the native of the 
State selected to welcome them to its capital cit3^ General R. C. Newton 
spoke as follows. 

RECEPTION ADDRESS. 

By permission, Mr. Chairman, I will, for convenience, address myself directly 
to our guests. 

Gentlemen of the Excursion Party : — I have been requested, in behalf of the 
people of our State and city, to tender to you a welcome to our midst. 
Were it only the expression of my own feeling upon this occasion, I know 
how truly sincere and earnest that welcome would be; and I feel I am per- 
fectly safe in assuring you that my own is also the sentiment of all those who 
greet you in your trip through our borders. The fact of the business is that we 
are indeed "■ glad to see you." [Applause.] Our cabin may be an humble one 
and our fare "rough," but the "latch-string hangs on the outside," and the 



8 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

earnestness of our welcome must make amends for all deficiencies in the means 
at hand for rendering your visit a pleasant one. 

We rejoice that we have eye-witnesses to the character of our soil, the nature 
of our climate, the customs, habits and condition of our people, the great nat- 
ural gifts blessing this fair land of ours, rather than having to^ trust to what 
might be considered the too partial representations of friends, the contrary 
assertions of the unfriendly or of rivals, or the damning by faint praise on the 
part of the indifferent. It would be unbecoming in me to tell you gentlemen all 
that we think about these things. You are here to see for yourselves. Our duty is 
to give 3^ou a fair opportunity of knowing more of us, and assuring you of our great 
delight at this opportunity of being face to face with, and of grasping by the hand, 
the educators of public sentiment throughout that great Northwest of which j^ou 
all are so justly proud. We know about your vast prairies, your rich fields of 
wealth, your prosperity — how rapidly your wide extended country has been 
made to thrive under the hand of your industry. We would emulate your exam- 
ple. That emulation shall be a generous one, for we feel that what yields your 
profit contributes to our prosperity also. We only "want a chance," and without 
pulling down aught that is another's, we would build up a prosperity here 
among us that shall be the pride of all, and to the participation in which all are 
most cordially invited. [Immense applause.] We can but remember that the 
same great river that " marches to the sea." with the products of your soil, 
sweeps also the entire eastern length of our State ; that the same " iron horse" 
that has proclaimed the advance of civilization and of American institutions 
throughout your borders, ofi"ers now his tireless energy to us, too. We all are 
bound to know that we have indeed interests in common. Accordingly, in our 
rude Western language, we want to " neighbor with you." Miles Jiave separated 
us, but space becomes as nothing at the touch of American enterprise and Amer- 
ican " get-up-and-get go-ahead-ative-ness," and when we know each other as we 
are. now commencing to do, then will we be neighbors sure enough. Why, we 
will step over and borrow your preserving kettles, every now and then, and jonr 
children can come over and slide on our children's cellar door and swing on our 
gate. [Laughter and applause.] That's what we are driving at! And we 
are selfish in it, too, it is true, in that we feel confident that when the great 
masses, of whom you are the teachers, and of whose sentiments you are the 
exponents, shall learn all about this State, its advantages, the sentiments of the 
people, the perfect feeling of security everywhere existing among us, then 
will a fair proportion of those seeking new homes avail themselves of the 
opportunities here offered for the investment of their means and the remu- 
nerative use of that muscle, pluck and energy for which this "universal 
Yankee nation" is so noted. And the emigrant from abroad, leaving the worn- 
out lands and worse than worn-out institutions of his native clime, will come 
amongst us, come with his wealth, if any he has, come anyhow, if poor, " with 
sandal shoon and scallop shell/' to be a self-made man among a self-made people. 
[Great applause.] 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 9 

We want all this, and think our State will justify our high hopes for the 
future. You need not fear that you will have just cause of regret if you will but 
quit paying us visits, and the next time " come to stay." Come and help us 
enjoy the great prosperity spread out before us. You see our broad fields, now, 
in these autumn months, readj^ with their returns for the industry of our people. 
When the spring-time comes, and all nature is "wearing o' the green," do jon 
all, and all your neighbors, friends, country cousins, and all, come Yankee 
doodling down this way, and, with us, " live and die in Dixie." [Enthusiastic 
and prolonged applause.] 

After the guests had satisfied their appetites, Col. Loughborough announced 
the toasts prepared for the occasion, the first one being 

"OUR GUESTS, 

The honored representatives of the Press of the Great West, The State of 
Arkansas and the city of Little Rock extend to them their warmest and most 
cordial welcome, and while hospitalit}^ may rule the hour, they ask, nevertheless, 
that a careful inquiry be made during this visit of our guests into the resources 
of the commonwealth, to the end that Arkansas may be lifted, in the estimate of 
the other States, to the plane that righfull}'^ she should hold and maintain." 

This was responded to b}'' Col. H. H. Robinson, of Indiana, representing the 
Fort Wayne Gazette, and Dr. James Stimson, of Michigan, representing the 
Michigan Farmer, of Detroit. 

RESPONSE BY COL. ROBINSON. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of Arkansas : — It is an embarrassing privilege 
to speak thus unexpectedly for the Press, in answer to the very flattering senti- 
ment proposed. The mission of your guests is one of kindty observation and 
fraternal greeting. We come, not with the implements of war and subjuga- 
tion, but with the agencies of peace and benevolence — to illustrate, indeed, the 
motto so aptly inscribed upon yonder wall, that " the pen is mightier than the 
sword." The uniform attention we have received on the way to the capital 
assures us that the citizens of other States have your fraternal regard, and that 
you of Arkansas are built of the spirit of reconciliation. This superb banquet, 
spread for us as the representatives of the Press and people of the great North- 
west, and the eloquent and cordial tone of the welcome your native orator has 
expressed, further attest your earnest desire for a broad and deep American 
fellowship. During this first day of our excursion through your State, we have 
seen many marks of the bounty of nature and the energy of man. Your genial 
atmosphere, your immense woodlands, rich fields of cotton and corn, and your 
picturesque landscape have won our admiration, and such an ovation as this 
closes our day with the treats of dream-land. I shall not check the flow of 
eloquence which is to follow the formal tender of thanks which I now make, in 
behalf of my editorial associates, for your lavish hospitality, by any discussion 



10 - THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

of the scope and responsibilitj^ of the Press. Let me rather conclude with the 
assurance that we have so far found much to commend in the area we have 
traveled ; that we expect increased satisfaction as our observation extends ; and 
that the manifestations of favor from yourselves, from the people of Arkansas, 
shall have full recognition. 

RESPONSE BY DR. JAS. STIMSON. 

Mr. President and Citizens of Arkansas : — Called on as the representative 
of so able and influential a journal as the Michigan Farmer, and of the highly 
favored and well known " Peninsular State," to respond to the toast which has 
just been proposed, I am sorry that my present duties and responsibilities had 
not devolved on some one more competent to properly discharge them. 

The exceeding kindness which I have received at your hands, and the very 
cordial reception extended hy your citizens, reassure me, however, and encour- 
age me to attempt a few remarks. 

To the promoters of this Editorial Excursion, Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., 
and 3'ourself, on behalf of myself and of the interests I represent, as also, I am 
sure, on behalf of all my fellow-excursionists, it affords me great pleasure to 
offer heartfelt congratulations on its signal success. 

Referring to matters of broader interest, I must also offer to you, and through 
you to all concerned, my sincere congratulations on your having accomplished 
the happy solution of embarrassing political problems, and the establishment of 
a stable government which is generally acceptable to all classes. 

I congratulate you also on the bountiful harvest which the Giver of all good"" 
has been pleased to give in answer to the prayers and patient toil of 3'our peo- 
ple, and am conscious I do but faintlj^ reflect the gratitude which fills the breasts 
of all Arkansians when I thus publicly acknowledge the mercies of our Heav- 
enl}" Father. 

I congratulate you that peace and plenty have, under God, returned to your 
hearths and fields, and trust, as I pray, that thej' may always henceforth abide 
with you. 

The foundations of your permanent prosperit}^ are broadly and firmly laid. 
It only remains to you to build " wisely and well" through all time to come. 

The deep interest I take in the development of the resources of your State 
will, I hope, Mr. President, procure your permission to offer a few words rela- 
tive to matters which, to me at least, seem intimately connected with its well- 
being. • 

The past year has been, to you all, one of great material progress. But a 
short time ago the inhabitants of Arkansas were, in a large sense, '^consum- 
ers" — now they are producers. Once they imported their food, or a large share 
of it. Now they produce it; and not enough for themselves alone, hut to 
spare; and, for the first time in her history, Arkansas produces enough food to 
support her own people, and some over, to ship. In a few short months your 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 11 

State and people have taken a vast stride forward ; your condition has wonder- 
fully changed for the better. The old state of affairs will never return. Arkan- 
sians have learned in the school of affliction and bitter experience, and come' out 
of that school graduates in strength, wisdom, and self-reliance, happ}^ in the 
enjoyment of their great political and agricultural success. 

There remain, however, successes to be achieved in other fields. Yours is yet 
but a sparse population in comparison to your acres. You need immigration — 
you should achieve it. With wise forecast for the future prosperity of this 
State, the promoters of this Editorial Excursion are diligently making known 
to the outside world its great advantages, and striving, in every legitimate way, 
to divert to 3"Our vacant lands the full tide of immigration which other States 
have hitherto been receiving. Sure I am that Arkansians everywhere will but 
consult their own interest by " holding up the hands" of those who thus faithfully 
labor for the general good. 

You also need manufactures. Blessed with most fertile lands and a genial 
clime, and encouraged b}^ past success, you will be inclined to extend your field 
of agricultural operations, and 3'our consequent production. Your natural tend- 
ency will be to produce largely in excess of vrhat you consume. Learn a 
lesson from Iowa, whose chief trouble io-daj, as it has been in the past, is that 
she has a large percentage of producers and a small percentage of consumers. 
As the remedy for such an undesirable state of affairs, let me direct your atten- 
tion to the necessity for building up in all your centres of population or other 
favorable points, as fast as pi'ofitably can be done, manufacturing establishments 
of different kinds. Thus will you bring the producer and consumer into most 
direct relations, to their greatest mutual advantage, and provide markets for 
your products — raw or manufactured. 

There is a class of products, Mr. President, which seem to me specially 
adapted to this and other Southern States, now, and in their certain future of 
prosperit3' — I refer to sugar, ramie, jute, and indigo. Sugar, perhaps, is not so 
well adapted to this State as to those nearer the Gulf, but it has done well in 
the southern part of the State, and all that I have named will do well there. 
These articles are partly raw products, partly manufactured. In the first three 
of them the processes of manufacture essential to their perfection are not com- 
plete, and yet they are sufficiently complete to make them marketable and 
exportable. In the case of the fourth, indigo, the process of manufacture is 
complete on the farm, as is the case with the Northern wealth-producer, cheese, 
and the manufactured article is fit at once to use at home or send abroad. Be- 
fore the revolutionary war England's chief source of "supply of indigo was her 
South American colonies. She paid a premium of twelve cents per pound on 
all the indigo imported from the colonies. The war of independence destroyed 
the market and manufacture of American indigo. And now England exports 
to us from her possessions in India two millions five hundred thousand dollars 
worth of indigo, annually'', on which we paj^ fifteen per cent, duties. Is there 
any reason why the Southern States should not revive the production of indigo, 



12 THE NEW AKKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

and keep our money at home? None whatever. So, too, with ramie and jute,v 
valuable textile growths, to which your soil and latitude are well adapted, and 
for the improved preparation and partial manufacture of which Emile Lefranc, 
Esq., of New Orleans, has done so much. So, too, with sugar, in a less degree. 
The advantage of production of these four articles consists in the fact that they 
can only be successfully grown in a limited portion of the Union — the South— 
and are largely consumed by all the Union, and by millions outside of it. 

But I trespass on j^our patience and time. I had become so interested in 
what I believed to be for your good, that my sympathies ran away with due 
regard for the proprieties of this happy festive occasion. By my parting words 
I would remind you that time is an element in all reform or progress (some- 
times a large element), and vv^ould exhort you to patient well-doing, for in due 
season je shall reap all that is great, good, aifd glorious, if ye faint not. 

The second toast was — 

"THE PRESS OF ARKANSAS, 

The hope and stay of the country. Swift to censure as to praise ; it shapes 
public sentiment while it criticises public men, and is the foremost agency in 
drawing attention to the resources of a State, thus preparing the way for immi- 
gration, wealth and power." 

Response by T. B. Mills, Esq. : 

Mr. President amd Gentlemen of the Press : — On behalf of the Press of 
Arkansas, yet in its infancy, but one day to be strong, I bid you, one and 
all, a heart}^ welcome. You have already been welcomed to our State and 
city b}^ a distinguished fellow -citizen of ours; but as one connected with the 
Press, I welcome you to the hospitalities of " our craft." You will behold, with 
your own eyes, our mighty forests and vast water communication, our mineral 
resources and our fields of cotton and of corn, and so have other visitors before 
3^ou ; but they, on their return to their homes, have told of our resources and 
our salubrious climate only to a few, while each one of you will speak to 
thousands, and some to tens of thousands, concerning our State and its people. 
While it is true that men constitute a State, and that each State must very largely 
depend upon its own people for advancement and prosperity, 3'et such is the power 
of the Press, that no one element can help build up a State so rapidl}^ as an enter- 
prising Press. What, to-da^y, would be the condition of the world without a single 
newspaper, pamphlet or book? It would seem as though the very light of intelli- 
gence had gone out. Take away every book, destroy ever}^ newspaper, then science 
would decay, art would fade away, and every busy arm of industry would seem 
paralyzed and the world stand still. If, then, suddenly you should reproduce 
every press, replenish every library and, thick as leaves of Vallambrosa, scatter 
the products of the Press again upon every home and hearth-stone, the whole 
earth, just now dead, would teem with life again, and all its vast and myriad 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 13 

works go On once more. Surely the Press is the Archimedean lever which moves 
the world. To-day the Press is the great schoolmaster of the people, educating 
all mankind. It is the great medium of morals and religion too. Reverend 
divines may enunciate their peculiar doctrines from special pulpits, but the Press 
preaches to the world the universal religion of God to man ; it exercises a 
greater influence over the customs of the people than did the Lictors of ancient 
Rome. The Press erects and pulls down thrones ; it produces war and declares 
peace ; it describes, with equal learning, the mechanism of a steam engine or the 
wheeling of a wheelbarrow ; it establishes the salaries of Presidents and fixes 
the price of pins ; it tells all about the jokes and jumps of the last circus, 
and of the decrees of the Ecumenical Council ; and I believe that it will sell 
more land and do more to develop Arkansas than all other agents. Indeed, 
just for once, at least, I'd rather not see the sun rise in the morning than to 
miss my morning paper. More than 'two thousand j^ears before the present era, 
the ancient Egyptians embalmed the remains of their dead, whereby they were 
preserved for our eyes to behold ; but the Printing Press has gathered all the 
glorious memories of the past, all the noble acts and thoughts of the great and 
good of earth ; the story of battles lost and won } how nations rose, flourished 
and fell, and all the hopes and aspirations of life, and has embalmed them in its 
priceless casket, which shall endure when the monuments and mummies of Egypt 
have passed away, and by which alone we shall know that Eg3'ptiaus ever lived. 
An intelligent press is the greatest prop to constitutional liberty ; and while the 
American Press shall be uncorrupted, while it shall be fearless, though partisan, 
while it shall stand erect, bowed down by the gold of no demagogue, I believe 
the liberties of our countrj^ are secure. 

Gentlemen, I again bid you a fraternal welcome to our State, a State destined 
to shine full-orbed amid the brightest stars of our constellation. Peace and 
Plenty, twin sisters of the brightest civilization, now dwell together in Arkansas. 
No sectional strife exists amongst her people ; all acrimon}^ and bitterness has 
passed away. Upon her fair brow a garland of good government has been 
placed. In natural resources we are the peer of any State in the Union ; and 
when, through the hundreds of voices of the Press, our advantages are fully 
made known, where now only hamlets are seen, towns and cities will spring up 
and thrive, and this capital city wrill become the center of a free, happy and 
prosperous State. This I believe to be the true " Spirit of Arkansas." 

The third toast was — 

"THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. 

"Fifty-three thousand square miles of territory, six navigable streams, timber 
in profusion, with prairie interspersed, cotton and the cereals — the product of 
the vine and the orchard abounding wherever cultivated — there is only needed 
the stimulus that immigration alone can give to place the State in successful 
competition with her now stronger sisters of the Northwest." 



14 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Responded to by Judge U. M. Rose : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Excursion : — When a friend lequested me 
this morning to respond to the sentiment which has just been read, 1 consented 
to do so with the less reluctance because I thought that Arkansas was pretty 
able to speak for herself; particularly at this season of the year, when all her 
fields are white and golden with the bountiful productions of the earth. The 
subject is rather an extensive one, and probably I am too familiar with it to speak 
of it with that freshness which would most set it off. If I were to undertake to 
tell all that I know of Arkansas, I should have a longer story to relate than Mr. 
Stanley had of his adventures in going to the other end of the world, and away 
out into Africa, where he discovered Dr. Livingstone. I have been living in the 
State of Arkansas for about twenty-two years — a pretty good evidence that the 
country is not extremely unhealthy, for if it had been I should doubtless have 
been dead a good while ago. 

When I immigrated to the State it had, I must confess, rather a bad name 
abroad for lawlessness^-a name which was conferred upon it, however, by those 
who had the least knowledge of its condition ; for I soon found that the laws 
here were enforced with as strict uniformity as in any other State of the Union, 
and that the people were as peace-loving and as orderlj^ as in the older States. 
Perhaps the reputation which they had verj^ unwillingly acquired served to put 
them somewhat on their good behavior. I found also a generous hospitality and 
a sincerit}' of friendship which would have gone far to sweeten life even in the 
most desolate wilderness ; and so I have continued to live here, if with no great 
increase of prosperity, at least with such content as perhaps I could have attained 
to under any circumstances which are within the probabilities of my life. 

It may be supposed by some that these 5''ears were marked by a want of gen- 
eral prosperity, but I think that this was not true. During the ten years inter- 
vening between 1850 and 1860 the wealth and population of Arkansas were more 
than doubled ; and this fact I think makes a verj^ fair showing for Arkansas, 
when it is considered that the institution of slavery repelled a large class of im- 
migrants, and that in those days there was a grand empire on the northwest, 
and south of us which was of easier access, and which bid very largely in the 
prevailing competition for wealth and prosperity. Had we continued in the same 
ratio of increasing material wealth, we should by this time have made a very good 
show alongside of our sister States. But the war came on, and for several years 
the index on the dial of our prosperity went backward ; and after the war ended 
we became the victims of various vicissitudes which had a retarding effect on 
every enterprise. These things have all passed awa}^, and in a few years will 
onl}^ be remembered as a matter of history. Rich in experience which older 
States might well envy, the State of Arkansas has entered upon a higher career. 
The first thought of perhaps every citizen is how we may best develop the 
munificent resources with which nature has endowed the land of our adoption ; 
how we may add to the number of her productive acres, and make them most 



AT LITTLE KOCK. 15 

contribute to the wants of our race ; how we may best advance the cause of 
civilization in which the world is engaged. 

We have no doubt about the ample resources of the country, and the only need 
that we feel is that of a larger population. We need at least a hundred thousand 
immigrants, and that at once ; we are able to accommodate that number and to 
make it to their advantage to come and settle among us, and not only stalwart 
men to fell the trees, to explore and develop our mines, to expand all the indus- 
trial pursuits of the country, but the wives and little children of such to build 
up all the finer qualities of cultivated life and to fill up all our desolate places 
with light and jo3\ To those who are willing to put in their lot with us, we ca.n 
offer a mild and equable climate, which is, perhaps, all things considered, unsur- 
passed on our continent, and such a variety of soil as must suit almost every 
fancy. If the immigrant wants a soil free from stones, where the science of 
geology would go mad, we can supply him with lands where he will scarcely 
find a large pebble within a circuit of fifty miles ; if it pleases him to procure 
lands of another description, we can provide him with territory where his eyes 
may rest on rocks of the largest size, and which give promise of great perma- 
nence and durability ; if he desire to plant his vineyards, fields or orchards on 
the slopes of salubrious mountains, he will have no Irouble in suiting himself; if 
his heart yearns for some more peaceful dwelling in some quiet valley, we can 
supply him with running streams where he may build hira a tub-mill, and dream 
away his life, free from all the cares which pursue mankind in more active pur- 
suits ; if he wants prairie lands, we shall also easily meet his demands ; and as 
for timber lands of the finest quality, he will have no trouble in providing him- 
self with any quantit}^ which his ambition may demand. 

After you have seen the specimens of the products of the soil which have been 
exhibited to you, it will not be needful that I should dwell on the productiveness 
of our lands. It is a well known fact that our great staple, cotton, is a more cer- 
tain and more remunerative crop in this latitude and in this soil than anywhere 
else on the globe. Cotton is a crop which is more readil}^ convertible into money 
than perhaps any other, and this readiness of exchange into gold or any other 
commodity at a moment's notice has perhaps induced too exclusive attention to 
that crop ; but the farmers of our country have seen the error of their ways in 
this respect, and this year the}^ have made ample provision for the staff of life 
as well, and such a feeling has set in among them on this subject, that I do not 
hesitate to predict that hereafter whoever raises provisions for Arkansas will 
raise them within the bounds of Arkansas, and indeed the most bountiful heav- 
ens invite us to do so. We are situated in a climate and possessed of a soil 
where all the cereals grow in the highest perfection ; not one of them has denied 
Arkansas for a home ; the luxurious growth of the grape bespeaks the land of the 
vine, and we are able to produce in the greatest profusion all the fruits of the 
earth, except those of tropical climes, and these grow nowhere in our country 
except along our Southern seaboard, and along the banana belt of Jay Cooke's 
Northern Pacific Railroad. We have also coal which will suffice to supply the 



16 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

manufactories which shall eventually work up all our products, and also to fill 
all the orders of our less favored neighbors for centuries to come. We ask all 
who are interested in these things to come and see for themselves, and not to 
take our word for anything ; not to go flying along our railroads, which invaria- 
bly run through the poorest and most thinl}^ settled parts of the country, but to 
go out with the leisure which the great subject of a change of home demands, to 
get acquainted with our farmers, and see and judge for themselves. 

But in doing so any serious delay would be most unwise. The dark shadow 
of war has been lifted from the land ; a season of renewed peace descends on the 
soil like a benediction. Those who first come will be rewarded for their dili- 
gence, as only the diligent are rewarded. Investments in lands here at this time 
cannot under any circumstances prove unprofitable. I was reading the other day 
in some book on the subject of population that at the present rate of increase of 
the human family, in two thousand years there will be one man for every square 
yard of dry land on the face of the earth. I am very far from wishing to over- 
stimulate the market for real estate, but I cannot help but suggest that when the 
population becomes so dense that we shall find a man on ever}'- square yard of 
dr}^ land, there is but little doubt that lands will command a much higher 
price than at present, nor do I fear to say with equal confidence that a few 
months will make a very great difference in the prices, and that difference will 
be to the disadvantage of the tardy immigrant. 

And in conclusion, gentlemen of the excursion, let me say that it affords us a 
sincere pleasure to see you amongst us ; we desire that you should be pleased 
with us, and with our country, and that you, after having seen for yourselves, may 
return with none but agreeable memories ; and when you shall be again in your 
own homes, if you are pleased to advise anj^ of your friends to come down and 
settle in a milder climate, you may truly add that, aside from all material bene- 
fits which may result from such a step, there is nowhere in the world where they 
will receive a warmer and more kindly welcome than here in Arkansas. 

The fourth toast was — 

"THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK. 

"What she needs is manufactures. May our editor friends so tell this to the 
North, that capital will not fail to come here, giving growth to the city while it 
enriches itself." 

Responded to by Hon. T. D. W. Yonley. 

[We regret not having received a copy of Judge Yonley's able speech.] 

The fifth toast was — 

"THE STATES REPEESENTED BY OUR GUESTS. 

" Situated, like Arkansas, in the Valley of the Mississippi, their interests are* 
our interests, and we rejoice in this opportunity of cementing a friendship that 
we trust will increase abundantly as the nation grows old." 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 17^ 

Eesponse b}- Hon. W. W. Wilshire. 

Mr. Chairman: — The ideas contained in the toast are too extensive to be dis- 
cussed as they should be in the time usual!}' occupied on such occasions. I will 
content mj^self b}' alluding to one thought suggested, and that was the question 
of cheap transportation; one that has been much discussed, and has attracted a 
great deal of attention of late, and one, I think, in which all of the States of the 
Mississippi Valley could unite. It is a question of great importance to the 
people of all the States bordering on or tributary- to the great "Father of 
Waters." The Mississippi river drains a country- extending from the Alle- 
ghanies on the east to the Rocky Mountains on the west, and from the British 
possessions on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south, embi'acing an area 
-equal to more than one-half of the territory of the Union. It is of the first 
importance to all the people of the States situated in the Vallej' of the Missis- 
sippi, to have that great national thoroughfare, with its various tributaries, 
passing through, as they do, every State and Territory lying in this great and 
fertile valley, so improved as to enable the people to transport their immense 
and varied productions to the marts of the world at less cost than they do now. 
This done, and a communit}' of interests between the people of the great North- 
west and the Southwest will follow, that will create a bond of union eternal and 
inseparable. The improvement of these great means of water transportation 
cannot much longer be neglected; they were designed hy the God of nature to 
be thus used by us, and it is only left for us to utilize the means He has provided 
for us to be a happy and prosperous people. 

A look at the map of those States : the Mississippi river and its tributaries 
reminds one of the arterial system of the human form, reaching out into ever}- 
part of those States and Territories fructified b}' them ; most of them only 
wanting that attention of, aad aid bj^, the National Government that is due to 
the people living along them, to make them available for the transportation of 
the products of that vast country which the commerce of the whole nation so 
much demands. Alread}^, under the wise provisions of an act of the last Con- 
gress, an improvement is being made at the mouth of the Mississippi that 
promises to exceed the expectations of the most sanguine advocates of the 
measure. I confidentl}* believe that when that improvement shall be completed, 
the largest vessels of commerce that float on the high seas will be enabled to 
-pass far up that great inland sea of America. 'That done, and its various tribu- 
taries, that are susceptible, made navigable, the best markets of the world will 
Ije thrown open directly to the producers of this great valle3^ 

This is a question of peculiar interest to the peoplj of Arkansas, second in 
importance only to that of inducing the good people of the Northern and 
Western States, as well as the balance of the world, to come and settle among 
CIS, and enjoy with us the benefits of our mild and beautiful climate, and cheap 
^nd productive land, which have been so well described b}' others here to-night. 
Ueing a Northern man myself, a native of Illinois, I think I can speak under- 
2 



18 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

standinglj'^ to our guests, as to the character and disposition of our people, and 
I feel perfectly assured in saying to them to-night that they can go home to 
their respective States, and, through the poweilul medium of the press, saj' to 
their people that such of them as, for climatic or other reasons, may desire to 
come to Arkansas, will meet with a most cordial and hearty welcome. We 
want the intelligence, muscle and money of the Northwestern farmer and 
mechanic, to help us to develop the vast and unexampled resources of this State, 
and in return for it we will give them the most productive lands on the continent, 
a,t astonishinglj' low prices ; a better climate than any State in the Union, and 
as perfect and complete protection to life and property as is afforded anywhere. 

Eesponse by Capt. U. D. Cole, of Huntington, Indiana : 

Capt. Cole rejoiced at the heartj^ reception accorded to the excursionists, and 
felt, if there were any prejudices existing among the Northern people, such demon- 
strations were certain to dispel them. There was, in this welcome, evidence of 
a purpose to restore the cmicable lelations which should subsist to make a coun- 
try- great and prosperous. "When the people of the North can come here and be 
received and entertained in so friendly and hospitable a manner as we have 
been, it is manifest that the true spirit of reconciliation and reconstruction ani- 
mates the people here. From his observations since he had entered the State, 
Capt. Cole paid a high tribute to the boundless resources of Arkansas. While 
cotton had been recognized as king, there were other equally as compensating 
productions. The minerals of the State, the manufacturing facilities, the invit- 
ing field for stcck-raisirg, were ready to pay capitalists laigely on their invest- 
ments. The speaker predicted that in the ccmmon purpose of her citizens was 
the lever which would lift Arkansas to the plane to which she belongs. 

Eesponse by R. A. Beal, of Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

The sixth toast was — 

" THE JUDICIARY OF THE STATE. 

" Its integrity is our protection, for without a wise and incorrupt interpretation 
of law, all else that may be done will neither hold the State together nor secure 
the prosperity of the individual." 

Response by Chief Justice E. H. English : 

It is true, Mr. Chairman, that the life and perpetuity of the State, as w^ell as 
the prosperity of her citizens, very much depend on the integrity, wisdom and 
learning of the judiciary. 

In the frame-work of the American government, the judicial was wiselj' sepa- 
rated from the legislative and executive departments, and, all things considered, 
is the most important of the three departments. 

The judges are the guardians of the Constitution, and are not only charged 
with obedience to it themselves, but with the delicate dutj- of seeing that it is 
■ not infringed by those who make the laws or those who execute them. 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 19 

The importance of the judiciaiy is at once perceived when we think of a gov- 
ernment with legislative and executive departments, but without courts. Where 
would crime be punished, and life, liberty and propert}^ find protection ? To 
whom would the weak and the helpless appeal against the strong? Who would 
protect the Constitution against willful or inadvertent infractions? In timss of 
partisan strife, when passion overcomes the sober judgment of men, who would 
protect minorities in their chartered rights ? 

Charged with such important trusts, rightly does the sentiment to which I 
have the honor of responding, indicate that integrity should be a cardinal virtue 
of the judiciary. 

It was a beautiful conception of the artists of the olden times to represent 
justice as a goddess blindfolded, so as not to see the parties litigant, and holding 
in her hand a pair of scales nicely balanced. 

But however honest and just, a judiciarj'- would be much at fault, as also 
well indicated b}- the toast, without competency, or wisdom and learning. For 
a disposition to decide right would be of little avail to the State, or to her citi- 
zens, interested in the administration of the law, without a knowledge of what 
the right is. An incompetent judge may do great injustice and inflict wrong 
unintentionall}-. His heart may be right, but his head may lead him astra}'. 

In our State, as inmost of the States, of recent j^ears, the people elect their 
own judges. If they make bad selections, it is their own fault, for there are 
in all of the States plenty of good, honest lawj^ers to select from. Whatever 
cross-grained people may say to the contrary, there is no doubt but lawyers, in 
all ages and countries, have generally been men of integrity, learning, and 
conservative in their sentiments. 

In the midst of revolutions, when the masses have run wild with passion, and 
been disposed to tear up the ver}" foundation stones of all good government, 
law^'ers and judges have stood like great rocks amDug the waves, and checked 
the tide of passion. A good bar makes a good bench. 

Many law3'ers become editors, and their considerate ani conservative habit 
of thought has a wholesome influence upon the press. Perhaps most of our dis- 
tinguished guests to-night have been disciples of Blackstone, Kent, Stor}-, etc. 

Oar State judiciary has only been organized for thirty-seven years. It may 
be said to be in its infancy, like the State, though some of the judges have 
reached the autumn and are approaching the winter of life. M)st of the 
judges have been of the wilderness lawyers, who rode the circuit, swam the baj'- 
ous, slept under the oaks, and displaj'ed their forensic eloquence in log-cabin 
court-houses. The}' had not many bool^s, bat, like the lawyers in the days of 
Bracton and Fleta, they hammered out the law of their cases from elementary 
principles. We have more books now, and the law3^ers and judges have m^re 
comforts on the circuit, and travel a good deal faster on railroads than they 
used to do on horseback. 

I think that I ma}' safelj^ say to our guests that they may truthfully repre- 
sent to the [)cople abroad, through their ably conducted presses, that crime is 



20 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELEKS. 

punished, and life, liberty and propert}' are protected by the judiciary of Arkan- 
sas ; and, in the administration of the law, the judges do not distinguish between 
the stranger or new-comer and the oldest inhabitant, but that all aie alike regard- 
ed. And I think I may also say to our distinguished guests, in the name of bench 
and bar, that we are pleased to see them amongst us, and hope they may return 
to their homes favorably impressed with our new and growing State. 

The seventh toast was — 

''THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

" Without it a nation cannot permanently prosper ; with it the success of free 
institutions is placed beyond peradventure or doubt." 

Risp )nses by Col. L. H. Roots, of Little Rock, and Edward Goodman, repre- 
senting the Legal Examiner and Literary Monthly, of Chicago, Illinois. 

RESPONSE BY COL. LOGAN H. ROOTS. 

Mr. President: — If I understand the toast correctlj', it is a subject of such 
immense magnitude that no rational creature, without a single moment for pre- 
paration, would presume to speak upon it before such an intelligent and critical 
assemblage as is now present. And you know, sir, that I had not the slightest 
previous intimation of being called upon. 

As you called upon me, I was conversing with m}- esteemed friend, the Chief 
Justice, concerning the toast to which he has just read such an able response, 
and he was telling me that he had been spoken to about it so late in the day 
that he was compelled to either write his remarks, make a failure, or "be 
sick." Now, good sirs, look at my attenuated person — only weighing 220 
pounds, and my excuse as being sick will plead itself. [Laughter.] 

Having traveled in company with our distinguished guests from St. Louis, 
they have heard enough from me already, and I have heard enough from them 
to know that I am depriving all of a rare treat so long as I delaj^ the opportu- 
nity for 3'ou to hear from some of them. So I shall make no speech. Yet I 
take pleasure in assuring our visitors that we Arkansians appreciate the ben- 
efits of education ; we know its necessity, and will strive to secure its blessings 
f(n- our postei'ity and successors. To you, good sirs, who have been reared in 
the land of long-established free schools, we say, " come and help us." Our 
land is broad enough, our soil rich enough, our climate genial enough to add a 
loud chorus to our invitation. While Arkansas ma}' not now lead older States 
in educational opportunities, we have schools that in their completeness and 
excellence would astonish many of yon, and with the united efforts of yoxx and 
ourselves, we maj^ acquire and enjoy a population with facilities for the promo- 
t on of. education absolutely unsurpassed. 

RESPONSE BY EDWARD GOODMAN. 

Mr. Chairman., Ladies and Gentlemen: — In behalf of the delegation present, 
I thank you for your generous hospitality and cordial greeting of the citizens of 
Little Rock. 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 21 

Soou, very soon, this compaTij' of delighted travelers will be scattered to their 
different homes in the North, but back with them to the shores of our northern 
lakes they will carry sweet recollections of 3'our sunny clime, of the banquet at 
Little Rock, of the festival at Hot Springs, and last, but not least, of the grand 
old-fashioned barbecue with which you have just surprised us. 

I shall not attempt on this occasion to eulogize the State which I came to ci iti- 
cise, but which I have so suddenly learned to love. I must confess to you that 
the place in my map of the United States, which is marked Arkansas, I haAc 
been accustomed to regard with indifference, nor had I ever dreamed of the 
wealth of its resources, and the attractions of its scenery' and climate, until, 
through the management of your enterprising citizens, Messrs. Loughborongh 
and Mills, the wonderful advantages of your State suddenly burst upon my sight 
in all the splendor of an autumnal daybreak. Your deep rich soil ; your magnifi- 
cent navigable rivers; your forests of oak, hickory and walnut; your orchaids 
of apple, peach and pear trees ; 3'our gardens of berries, melons, grapes and 
figs; your fields of cotton, corn and sweet potatoes; your mines of iron, coal, 
zinc and lead ; your wonderful curative springs — all these advocate your cause 
with an eloquence that surpasses speech, and will soon, if not alreadj'^, spread 
your fame throughout the habitable globe. 

In 1837 your State of -Arkansas and my native State of Michigan were both 
admitted into the Federal Union. Perhaps I cannot better indicate what tlie 
future of Arkansas must be than by briefly alluding to what Michigan is. By 
comparison, Michigan loses in size, in climate and in fertility, and yet, in the 
light of what Michigan has done with what advantages she does possess, 3'ou may 
catch a glimpse of that great destiny which surely awaits the Arkansas of the 
future. At the last election Michigan polled 221,000 votes ; Arkansas, less than 
90,000. Michigan has a population of 1,250,000 ; Arkansas, less than 500, OdO. 
Michigan sends 320,000 children to the common school ; Arkansas, less thnu 
63,000. The taxable property of Michigan is $272,000,000 ; that of Arkansas, 
something more than one-half that amount. The forests of Michigan have been 
subdued., and with them the chills so universally attendant upon the settlement of 
a new country; in Arkansas, the wooded hills and plains still afford a safe shelter 
for the deer, the bear, the coon, the possum and the wild turkey. The mines of 
Michigan, now in a high state of development, 3'ield an annual return of S 15, 000,- 
000; while those of Arkansas are almost as completely nnreclaimed as when by 
unseen hands they were hidden away " in the solemn midnight centuries ago." 

The rapid advancement of Michigan is owing, first, to timely immigration, and 
secondl}', to an unequaled system of education. Years ago, while Arkansas lay 
in silence on the west bank of the Mississippi, comparatively unknown, the sons 
and daughters of New England, New York and Pennsylvania were moving by 
hundreds and by thousands to take possession of the beautiful peninsula of the 
lakes, Michigan. I see them now as they take a last and long farewell of their 
childhood homes. The hour of departure has come. Never again shall their 
loving ej^es rest upon the green banks of the Fusquchanna, the INFohawk, the 



22 ' THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Hudson, the Connecticut and the Merrimac. Some cross lake Erie, where Com- 
modore Perry became immortal; while others, in covered wagons drawn by ox 
teams, wend their pilgrimage along its southern shore through the ancient 
possessions of Tecumseh the Indian warrior. 

And now, in the very beginning, they have laid deep and broad the guarantys 
of universal education ; and the result to-day is, a school-house in every district, 
academies in every county, agricultural, normal, medical, theological and legal 
colleges throughout the State, and above them all, a university which is actually 
contesting the lessons with old Harvard and Yale. What Michigan is, Arkan- 
sas shall be, and more. Like Michigan, the foundations of her society were laid 
by the descendants of those who in the fii'st American Revolution fought bravely 
for liberty on the battle-fields of Saratoga, of Brandywlne, and Savannah ; who 
suffered in British prison-ships, and famished and froze at Valley Forge, and who 
finally joined in the exultant shout of victory which rose above Yorktown's closing 
fight. Michigan and Ai'kansas are sister States. They were wedded to the Union 
the same year, and therefore their children are first cousins. Though Michigan may 
boast the most numerous family, Arkansas can jvistly claim the equahty of her 
children in patient endurance, in deliberate courage, in true fidehty to principles, 
in treasuring in their heart of hearts the memory of our common ancestry, our com- 
mon language, our common religion, our common country and our common flag. 
Our delegation have had an opportunity to see very much of your State and of 
your people, and it is but a slight indication of our feehngs when I say that we 
are delighted wath both. We have been received by you in a most generous 
manner ; you have literally extended to us the right hand of fellowship, and con- 
versed with us somewhat on the subjects nearest j^our hearts — of your homes, 
your families, your business, and your hopes for the future. 

This delegation represents in a great measure the religious, commercial and hte- 
rary press of the North, rather than the political. Our observations will be read 
around thousands of Northern firesides without distinction of party, and beheve 
me that in no instance will the social worth of j^our people or the natural great- 
ness of your State suffer at our hands. In conclusion, I cannot better express the 
feelings of every one of us than by repeating the hues of Scotland's famous poet : 

" When death's dark sea we ferry o'er, 

A time that surely shall come, 
In Heaven itself we ask no more 

Than just a Southern Avelcome." 

The eighth toast was — 

"AGRICULTURE, 

The primitive occupation of man, and to-day the chiefest. In inducements to 
till the soil Arkansas is not behind her sister States, and aU that is needed is to 
make her capacities known, as editors alone can do it." 

Responses by Gen. J. M. Pomeroy, of Little Rock, and Mr. Thomas S. 
Newman, of American Bee Journal^ Chicago, Illinois. The responses not being 
received, we are unable to print them. 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 23 

The ninth toast was — 

"THE MECHANIC ARTS. 

' ' We need the forge and the anvil; the plow and the loom, and with proper 
-encouragement, the manufacturing for the Southwest can be done in the Valley 
of the Mississippi." 

Responses by Gen. A. W. Bishop and W". J. Craig, of Bluffton, Indiana. 

KESPONSE BY GEN. A, W. BISHOP. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen : — I much regret that I cannot speak to you as 
a practical mechanic. I might possibly whittle a stick a la mode, though I am 
rather skeptical myself in that direction. I claim, however, to be in the most 
complete accord with this toast and the accompanying sentiment. I have given 
the subject of the development of the mechanic arts in the South some thought, 
and while it may perhaps be but the expression of a truism to say that we need 
the forge and the anvil, the plow and the loom, it is no vain boast to declare that, 
with proper encouragement, the manufacturing of the Southwest can be done in 
the Valley of the Mississippi. The timber, the water, the raw material, the 
markets are here, and at the touch of capital the forests will melt as the dew 
disappears when the sun marches out of the morning. 

Crossing the river this noon, by invitation, to meet our guests upon the farther 
"bank of the Arkansas, I stepped, while waiting the arrival of the train, into the 
shops of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, where was being 
•constructed a cabinet of timber grown entirely in this State. It was nearly 
finished, and was a most beautiful specimen of mechanical skill. It was intended, 
I learned, for exhibition, first at the coming Fair in St. Louis, and then at the 
Centennial. The kinds of timber used were ash, beech^ bois d'arc, cherry, 
cedar, cyi^ress, gum, holly, hickory, oak, poplar, sassafras, yellow pine and 
walnut, and certainly these woods had never taken more attractive form. The 
conspicuous red of the cedar, the clear white of the holly, the rich, dark- 
brown of the walnut rivalled the painter's art, and another trophy was borne 
away by nature. I felt proud of the State of my adoption. I could see in that 
cabinet, as any one else could see, possibilities of which we have as yet a very 
Inadequate conception. A million times over that exquisite piece of worlcman- 
ship could be reproduced in Arkansas, and yet her forests would stand weU- 
nigh as they now stand, thick, lofty and umbrageous, an invitation to the capital 
of other States, and a sure reward for the industiy of the mechanic. 

We buy ou:r agricultural implements from other States ; we can make them 
ourselves. We send to New England or abroad for our cotton and woolen 
goods ; we can manufacture them here. And so for all the Southwest, to come 
again to the sentiment of my toast, its manufacturing can be done in the Valley 
of the Mississippi. 

Gentlemen of the Press of the West, we ask _you to look for yourselves. Take 
nothing for granted. Scrutinize closel3^ If there is any pretension here, lay it 



24 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAYELERS. 

bare. We greet you with waiin hearts. We rejoice at j^our coming-, but wheus 
you leave us, I trust, for one, that you "v^all not simply hold in memory the kindly 
reception that we desire to give you, but will carry to j'our homes and lay before- 
your readers impressions of a State which is as rich as it is obscure, and only 
needs the stimulus that immigration, capital and labor can give to advance it to- 
the forefront of wealth, influence and power. 

[Ha\'ing received no copy of Mr. Craig's speech, we are under the necessity 
of omitting it.] 

The tenth toast was — •• 

" THE MFNERAL WEALTH OF THE SOUTHWEST. 

"It is here — copper and zinc, coal andiron, silver and lead — and with capital to- 
develop it, there can be no surer return, no richer reward." 

Responded to by Senator Powell Clayton, of Arkansas, and Professor Joseph 
E. Ware, of St. Louis, Mo. 

[Neither of the speeches of these gentlemen have been received, and we 
cannot therefore publish them.] 

The eleventh toast was — 

"THE ST. LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN AND SOUTHERN RAILROAD. 

"All hail to the enterprise of its officers, who have made this excursion possible^ 
and have already done so much with their road for the development of the State."' 

Responded to by Col. James M. Loughborough. 

[The pul)lishers regret that no copy of the excellent address of Col. Lough- 
borough has been received.] 

The twelfth toast was — 

"THE GREAT NORTHWEST. 

"Its labor and capital are imited to the State of Arkansas. Both will be 
protected in all their rights." 

Response by Col. D. W. Chambers, of New Castle, Indiana: 

In response, Ijnay say that we feel your invitation is in good faith. The fact 
that we are here to-night at j^our request to see your city and State, the manner 
of our reception by persons of all political opinions — if, indeed, distinction can 
be made in this, the more hearty welcome coming from late Confederate 
soldiers and their beautiful wives and daughters — the great ciix'ulation in our 
Northern country which T. B. Mills & Co. and J. P. Henry & Co. have given 
their respective papers. The Spirit of ArJcansas and the Real Estate AdvertiseVy 
with the universal approbation of all your people, and the fi'ee distribution, at 
the expense of your State government — now in the hands of that class of your 
citizens who are at the North sometimes erroneously supposed to want no emigra- 



AT LITTLE ROCK. 2^. 

tion, unless from the older States of the South— of books and maps giving^ 
acc-urate information of the great natural resources of Arkansas, are conclusive 
proof that all of your citizens earnestly desire emigration from the great States of 
the Northwest represented here to-night. We, therefore, upon returning home^ 
shall take great pleasure in saying to the people among whom we live : It is safe 
to emigrate to Arkansas ; neither you nor your wives nor joiw daughters will be 
ostracized from the position in society your merit entitles you to occupy. And 
we shall also say that Arkansas is surely the garden spot of America to-day for 
the rich or poor of the North who would seek a more genial clime. Here the 
Hoosier or the Sucker may enjoy his hog and hominy, his golden fields of wheat, 
of a quality unexcelled on the globe, all other cereals of the North, his small, 
fruits, his apples, his grapes, not surpassed by the finest of France or Spain, and 
pears that excel in size and flavor the best specimens of , California ; and, in a 
word, the Northern emigrant here may retain and will be surrounded by all the 
luxuries of life with which his intimate association from childhood has led him to 
believe are indispensable necessities to human happiness. And he will add to all 
these many fruits unknown in the North ; and, above all, he will find himself in 
the midst of snowy fields of cotton, which, by reason* of cheap transportation to 
all parts of the globe, and of a universal demand for the same by all civilized 
nations, is the most valuable of the staple products of America, alwaj^s command- 
ing the shining gold that chinks, or, better still, the greenback which preserved 
intact the American Union — which happy preservation, permit me to say, by way" 
of digression, is a matter over which all to-night rejoice. 

We find an equally warm heart and kindly hand extended to us as representa- 
tives of Northern people by natives of the Sunny South, and by men who have 
sought their homes here since the late war. 

Were I to-night speaking to an audience of late Federal soldiers, instead of to 
citizens of a rising city of the South, I would say, come to the State of Arkansas. 
Here you will find in your late enemy in war, your truest, noblest friend in peace ; 
and that in the next war, come from whence it may, the blue and the gray will 
stand side by side. 

The small farmer of the North, on his forty or eighty acre farm, who barely 
makes enough during the summer to subsist upon during the following winter, 
his land being worth from forty to one hundred dollars per acre, can come here, 
and with what his land will sell for at the North, can purchase four times the 
number of acres here, every acre of which will make him a clear profit of more 
per year than the forty or hundred dollar land he has exchanged it for ; and, 
moreover, here he finds a climate in which it is pleasant to labor out doors every 
month in the year, whilst in what is known as the Northwestern States there are 
at least three months in the year in wiiich no man can possibly labor outside of a 
warm shop. 

United States statistics of 1870 show that improved farm lands in Arkansas 
pay six hundred per cent, on their valuation, whilst in the great agricultural 



26 THE NEW ARKANSAS tRAVELERS. 

States of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and New Jersey, 
throughout the North regarded as the paradise for agriculturists, produce per 
year less than one hundred per cent, on their valuation. 

To the capitalist, Arkansas is a more in'S'iting field for inyestments in real estate 
'Or manufactures than any other part of the country. Here j^bu have the coal, 
the iron, the cotton, and rivers furnishing unparalleled cheap water power in 
close proximity with these great natural advantages. It is not too much to say 
that in cotton manufactures it will not be many years till Arkansas will be the 
rival of New England, and in the manufacture of iron will be the equal of Penn- 
sylvania. And I may safely add that in consideration of your mild climate, and 
the millions of acres of semi-mountainous and cheap lands in the northwestern 
part of the State, that this is the proper home of the sheep, and, therefore, in 
the production of wool and its manufactures, no country has greater possibilities 
before it. 

To the commercial man, where in America is there a brighter opening than the 
city of Little Rock ? It is already a railroad center, and in the very near future 
will rival Indianapolis or Chicago in the great advantages derived from these 
modern arteries of trade. Many of us here to-night will no doubt live to see 
your beautiful city, situated on many hills, rejoicing in a population of one hun- 
dred thousand people unsurpassed in education, sentiment and all the virtues 
that constitute a noble manhood. 

Allow me to say, in conclusion, that for many years I have regarded Arkansas 
as the future Italy of America, and that heftceforth I shall feel it my duty to say 
to the emigrant, go to Arkansas, and there you will find a lovely climate, a fertile 
soil, noble men and beaatiful women. 



CHAPTER III. 



HOT SPRINGS. 



gT TWO o'clock on the morning of the 30th, the excursion train left the 
j^^S Union Depot for Malvern, the station on the Southern road from which 
^^P the narrow gauge road is being built to Hot Springs. Among the 
invited guests who accompanied the excursion South, were the following promi- 
nent citizens of Little Rock : Sheriff H. H. Rottaken, Judge McClure, Senator 
Dorsey, Lieutenant Eugene Cushman, Col. Logan H. Roots, J. H. and M. 
T. Howe, H. T. Gibb, George E. Dodge and Mr. Warren. Daylight found 
the train at Malvern, and after an early breakfast, which had been ordered by 
Messrs. Loughborough and Mills, Col. G. P. C. Rumbaugh, Chief Engineer of 
the Hot Springs Railroad, had a train of platform cars, on which seats had been 
placed, ready to transport the party as far as the track on the road was laid. The 
open air trip over the nine miles of railroad, seated on the platform cars, was 
enjoyed by all. At the end of the road conveyances prepared by the citizens of 
Hot Springs, and in charge of a committee, composed of Messrs. I. M. Huffman, 
E. W. Rector and H. P. Thomas, were in readiness, and at two o'clock in the even- 
ing the party arrived at the Springs. Every preparation that a most la^dsh 
hospitality could suggest had been made for their reception, an account of 
which we take from the Hot Springs Telegraph. 

Ample preparations had been made for the reception of the editors of the 
Great West. Transportation had been provided to convey two hundred of them 
from the terminus of the Hot Springs Railroad to this place. The day was windy 
and cool, but the sun hot. 

Cols. Huffman and E. W. Rector, and Mr. H. P. Thomas, the committee ap- 
pointed, met them in the forenoon and escorted them to the city, where they 
arrived about half-past one, and were assigned to the various hotels which had 
tendered hospitalities, where sub-committees made them welcome. The dust 
brushed off and washed down, they dined. 

After dinner they rambled about the places of interest unmolested, except 
those who happened to be at the Pai-k when Mr. Castle turned the bear loose to 
give him a fair chance with the dogs that baited the bear, for a dog and bear 



28 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

fight for their amusement. Upon the liberation of the bear we believe the pass- 
ing street ear became suddenly filled with excursionists. After supper ''our 
guests," as they were labeled with blue badges presented by the committee of 
reception, assembled at the Ai'lington Hotel, and at nine a.m. assembled together 
with them about two hundred ladies, in party dress, in the spacious dining haU 
of the hotel. To the carpeted platform at the end of the hall, opposite the 
main entrance, for the double purpose of a stand for musicians and for the speak- 
ers, Col. Loughborough, Col. T. B. Mills, and Col. Harrell, who was to deliver 
the address of welcome, were invited by Col. Elon G. Smith, chairman of the 
committee of arrangements. The ladies were seated at the sides of the platform 
and around the hall, the gentlemen standing. Col. Smith, of the committee, then 
introduced Col. Harrell, who deUvered the following 

ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 

Gentlemen: — On the part of these fair ladies and generous gentlemen, it is my 
esteemed privilege and great pleasure to express to you our sincere gratification 
at meeting you, and to bid j^ou a, hearty welcome to this healthful resort. On 
reaching this place you have accomplished what was deemed visionary among 
the projects of Ponce de Leon, and proved disastrous to the enterprise of De 
Soto ; you have found the " fountain of youth " and health, and not only the foun- 
tain, but Youth and Beauty themselves, as you can testify from the realization 
of your own success. Everybody who comes here "vapors" more or less, 
gentlemen ; but trust me that, not even in bidding you a welcome, shall I forget 
to "simmer down" in good time. We extend to you a warm welcome, and 
might give you one even warmer, should it be pleasant to you. We can l>oil you 
down if you wiU permit us ; but should you submit to being boiled by us, you 
may do so without being afraid that we shall think of "skinning" you on this- 
occasion. Come in some other character before we propose to submit you to 
that operation, as an additional test of our earnest appreciation of your value. 

We are glad to show you our wonderful springs and to declare their good 
qualities. You may have been to Wildbacl, Weisbaden, or Baden-Baden, but I 
am confident that, after you investigate, yoii will not find us bad at all, but supe- 
rior to any of those bad places. There is possibility of only one regret that we might 
feel at your coming, and that is that our reception is not more worthy of you. 
We hold you in the very highest respect, because we know the power of the 
great engine which you direct if you cannot control. Your profession in Eng- 
land is called the Fourth Estate, and there the press is not free. In America we 
shall name it the First Estate, because the press, as yet, is free in America — ^in. 

America, 

" Where freedom broadens slowly down 
From precedent to precedent." 

And you as members of the First Estate, permit me to say, those of you who 
are the editors of the daily morning press, must be 'those to whom EmersDu 
alludes when he refers to "the brave who work while others sleep." 



AT HOT SPRINGS. 29 

We desire that you should like us and find in our State and commnnity that 
which you can commend when you return to j^^our Titan labors, well knowing, if 
you shall give us a place in your good favors, that by means of the influence you 
exert, 3^ou can secure for us all that we could desire. 

We desire you to help us with your powers. Help us to make not onl}^ our 
great spas known, but help us to make the wants of the people known. 

Many of you gentlemen may have never seen a ' ' squatter. ' ' Look around 
you in this brilliant ball-room. Nearly all whom you behold, besides yourselves, 
are squatters. We squatted here at various periods, dating back for forty 3^ears, 
most of us driven by physical pain and deadly disease to seek relief in the influ- 
ences of these wonderful baths. The others came here to minister to our 
necessities while we bathed. To have debarred us, fenced us out with bayonets, 
would have been not only un-American, but would have been shocking to 
humanity. We have confidence that our government will not be less merciful to 
us than relenting nature and these genial springs. It will not drive us from the 
homes we have built, in which many have reared their families, to give them to 
traffickers in other labors who lie in wait to despoil us, that they may take toll 
of the suff'erings of millions that are to come after us. Advocate for vis homer 
stead grants, in due proportion, in conformity with the general laws of this gov- 
ernment of the people; and when we obtain them, we will welcome you again, 
trith a welcome that will do credit to proprietors, and not as trembling tenants- 
at-will of a power that might be directed unconsciously by the influence of com- 
binations latterly denominated "rings." But pleasure before busi7iess is our 
motto to-night. Even as a general rule, we would postpone a week of business 
neuralgia or business paralysis for one night of dancing and comaviality. In 
advance for your advertisement we will partly pay you with divertisement. And 
you see the proof is waiting for you. The ladies are impatient for you to take 
the proof here, while there is "higher proof" waiting for you doivn stairs. Be- 
ware of centipedes and tarantulas in your boots. 

To Col. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the Iron Mountain and 
Southern Railroad, and Col. T. B. Mills of the Little Rock Spirit of Arkansas .^ I 
return thanks on behalf of our citizens for this visit. To their energy and spirit 
of enterprise it is wholly due. 

I shall not punish you any longer, but leave you to enjoy yourselves now 
according to your bents, and in that way the people of Hot Springs trust to 
make you welcome and your stay with them pleasant at least. Again I extend 
to you on the part of our citizens a most cordial welcome. 

The address was received with applause throughout. At the conclusion of 
Col. Harrell's address, Mr. H. H. Robinson, of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bepub- 
lican, ascended the platform and stated that it was the wish of the excursionists 
that the address they had heard should be responded to by Gen. A. H. Pierce, 
late of Chicago. Gen. Pierce was in\T.ted to the platform by the Chairman, and 
made the following eloquent and happy response, which was received with great 
applause : 



30 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Mr. Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen of Hot Springs: — I regret that a too 
partial appreciation of your humble speaker prevented the selection of some 
one more eminently qualified to reply to the eloquent address of your orator of 
welcome. Permit me, on behalf of your guests from the great Northwest, to 
return our most sincere thanks for the generous and hearty welcome extended. 
Your hospitality is as boundless as your domain, and seems as free as your 
gushing fountains. You, ladies and gentlemen, have led our hearts captive and 
disarmed criticism. Your romantic scenery, your genial clime, your rich pro- 
ductions of earth's treasures have won our praises ; but your kind and lo^dng 
hospitahties have thrilled us, and amid the wealth of j^our generous attentions 
we find our words are dumb to adequately express our appreciation. 

Our progress through the State has been a grand triumphal ovation, not as 
conquerors, but as those who have come to lift a veil and let the glorious light of 
truth shine abroad. Your citizens have seemed to magnify our characters. We 
are here, my friends, to do Arkansas justice. [Applause.] We have come to 
grasp you by the hand, to look in each other's faces, to sit by your hearthstones, 
and see if we cannot read the great truth that we are brothers, citizens of one 
great nation, ha^nng one common flag, and sharing the brightness of one glorious 
destiny. [Applause.] We have been greeted with warmth everywhere since 
entering your State. Last night, at your sister city, Little Rock, the tables 
" groaned under the weight of the feast," and ^dands rich and rare were spread. 
But I looked in vain for the bright galaxy of beautiful ladies who have here 
come to bid us welcome. 

Ladies and gentlemen, let me predict that a glorious future awaits you. For 
many years Arkansas has been trailing her robes of "melancholy gray" through- 
out the land, and men have shunned her as they would an unclean thing. But 
now, even now, the busy shuttles of thought are flying fast, and a hundred grati- 
fied hearts and brains are spinning the golden warp and woof that shall clothe 
her in a richer and more royal purple than ever wrapped an Oriental king. 
[Applause.] The days of her mourning have ceased, and j^ou, ladies and gen- 
tlemen, can wipe away all her remaining tears. And while, Mr. Chairman, we 
are thanldng you, and your generous sons and beautiful daughters, let me not 
forget to render our meed of praise to those public-spirited gentlemen who have 
brought us thus happily together. I refer to Col. T. B. Mills, Hon. J. M. 
Loughborough, and Hon. Thomas Allen, President of the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain and Southern Railroad. This mighty road, with its magnetic bands of iron, 
has linked you with the great Northwest — has opened the shadows of your for- 
ests to t]ie tread of the immigrant, and homes are springing where solitude 
reigned. To Cols. MiUs and Loughborough we say a thousand thanks for j^our 
watchful care over us ; and let me say to you, friends, that these are the enter- 
prises that will develop your State. I wish you had a thousand " T. B. Mills" 
firms. You should aid them, and hold up their hands, even as Aaron and Hur did 
those of the old prophet. The lines of their enterprise extend farther than eye can 
reach, and they are sounding music upon chords that will vibrate down the ages. 



AT HOT SPRINGS. 3| 

It gives US great pleasure to greet you liere in your happy homes — to visit 
your wonderful springs where humanity shall come from climes afar to bathe, and 
from whence the invalids shall go forth with a new song in their mouths — a song 
of joy for health restored and life prolonged. We look forward to the time 
when 3^our mountain sides shall be gemmed with noble \dllas, and wealth 
shall shower its treasures here. We will try to aid you in this noble achieve- 
ment, and the Northwestern Press will glow with greater fervor when our editors 
remember the bright smiles and warm hearts that greeted them here. 

Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen, while I call to mind a httle personal remin- 
iscence of your beautiful town. 

Five years ago I had the pleasure of visiting your beautiful city as the guest 
of one of Arkansas' honored citizens, and through the courtesy of the audience 
then gathered, I made a short address to your people. To-day I return to see 
the prophec}^, then made, fulfilled. I looked, and when the golden beams of 
morn came o'er the eastern hills, saw the heavy shroud of mist and vapor rise 
slowly up the mountain sides, hover for a while around their summits, , and then 
vanish in the blue ether. It seemed a half-apocaljrptic \dsion of the future of 
this State. Dark clouds of doubt,, uncertainty and wrong enshrouded the. State 
as with a mantle, and waUed her in a hving tomb. The muttering thunders of 
turbulent elements were heard, and the wise and thoughtful looked with dismay 
for the denouement. It came. A golden sunlight of peace and reform has dis- 
pelled the clouds of wrong, until the atmosphere glows with a purity hitherto 
unknown. The shackles of prejudice, bigotry and sectional hate have been rent 
asunder, and the day of your redemption draweth nigh. Even now the stone 
has been rolled away from the sepulcher where you have so long lain, and a voice 
as potent as that which rang through Gallilee is calling us to ' ' come forth. ' ' It 
is the voice of progress. The halos of enlightenment are beginning to flood this 
land. Men long unused to light have caught its brightness, and a new song is 
in their mouths. Let an acclaim of joy ring out, and let a great bonfire be 
made of the hates, feuds, animosities and strifes born of a fratricidal war. Thi& 
day" is the beginning of a new era. A hundred busy hands are ready to do you 
justice, and a hundi'ed generous hearts and appreciative intellects are here to- 
write the record for the future. 

Permit me, as one who has for a number of years held citizenship in your State^ 
to speak for a moment, not as a visitor, but as one of you who knows the needs 
of the State. You need a new element infused into jonr population — an element 
that can step outside the ruts of old-time associations. You want those who, 
bringing theu' household goods and gods with them, uniting then- sturdy manhood 
with 3"ours, take hold and utilize the riches we see springing spontaneously all 
around us. Arkansas should no longer pay tribute to Indiana for oak and 
hickory, to Connecticut for washtubs, wooden pails and whipstocks. 

While we love the gentle "thee" and "thy" of the Shakers, we think green 
corn and tomatoes would taste just as well if canned in the vaUey of the Ouachita. 
Cincinnati hams and St. Louis beef are good, yet you want those to come who» 



S2 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

can demonstrate the fact that just as good can be raised at home. We want 
those who can impress the great truth upon o\ir minds that it is hot good pohcy to 
send your cotton to Lowell to have it spun, wove, stamped and dyed, and, after 
paying fifty commissions and profits, returned to you again. And who can do 
this great work ? It must be those from the hardy States of the North, whose 
soil and climate, less kindly than your own, have developed a mental and physi- 
cal energy that have made the East and North musical with the hum of manufac- 
tories and teeming with wealth. These are the friends you want, and we 
know from your generous greeting to-night that a royal welcome awaits them. 

And what shall be the response to these demands? We know the answer 
. already. We have read it in the Idndling eye, the grasp of the hand, and the 
eloquent address of welcome just uttered. They tell us you will accomplish 
these results by a liberality as broad as j^our domain and as free as your sunlight ; 
by making the name of Arkansas respected and honored at home and abroad ; by 
making her fertile valleys and mineral hills the synonyms of peace, protection and 
prosperity ; by sheltering under the sacred segis of law every son and daughter 
who seeks a residence here. Let the iron-belted couriers bear it away, let the 
winds chant it, and let the lightning tell to the world the welcome Arkansas 
extends to the North, East and West. Here is the land to incite to noble deeds ; 
here is the land for the reign of eloquence, and we pledge you the aid of the Press 
of the Northwest to make it Liberty's home. Freedom's altar. Humanity's shrine, 
Learning's retreat, the olive branch of peace, the ark of safety. We bask in the 
"blaze of a new dispensation. The institution of slavery and unpaid toil went out 
amid the thunder of artillery and the flames of war, bu.t from their ruins arose a 
new nation — a land of free labor, free thought and free men. Free labor has 
mastered the terrors of the ocean, leveled the forests of a new world, and reared 
in their stead a community of States and nations. Free men have thundered at 
the gates of old dynasties and \\a'ested a magna charta from feudal bonds. They 
bave vanquished tja-anny on a hundred battle-fields, and made republicanism a 
living reality- 

Free thought, what has it not done ? It has dotted the land with its schools 
and its churches. It has reared its scientific altars and shrines in every land 
under the sun. It has tunneled mountains of granite, spanned the roaring tor- 
rent, harnessed a thousand iron steeds to as many freighted cars, and sent them 
fljdng from town to town and from nation to nation. It has reached forth its 
band, and the surcharged clouds have yielded up their hidden forces, and lightning 
lias become the errand-boy of humanity. It was through its power that — 

*' The lines have been dropped, the cables are laid, 

That anchor the East to the West; 
Old Time has been vanquished, old Ocean dismayed, 

And the lightning been cradled to rest. 
Far down 'ueath the billows her wings have been furled, 

Where tlie mermaiden sings in the sea, 
And whispers ' the lightnings give peace to the world, 

By linking the homes of the free.' " 



AT HOT SPRINGS. 33 



REMARKS OF W. H. FISHER. 



Citizens of Hot Springs : — Although not in the habit of speech-maldng, I can- 
not forego this opportunity of making a few remarks in reference to the many- 
interesting facts that have come under my observation during this pleasant trip 
into your State. 

From the newspapers and other sources of information which make it a point 
to publish only such items from the border States as are indicative of lawless- 
ness, the people of the State of Ohio, as well as those of other States, have very 
naturally been given to understand that a condition of things have existed, of 
such a nature as to make Arkansas a very undesirable country for respectable 
people to hve in. To say that I have been most agreeably disappointed in this 
respect but feebly expresses it. Nowhere in my extensive travels through 
twenty-six States of the Union have I found people more social, cultivated, and 
hospitable, and apparently more prosperous, than since I entered the borders of 
your State. 

Another fact which surprised me equally as great, is the beautiful and fertile 
country. Such fine-looking crops of every description, and inexhaustible supplies 
of timber and minerals, very few States can boast of and none can excel. 

If one-half the effort was made to put before the public the many superior 
advantages the State of Arkansas possesses, that is made to hera,ld abroad 
the crimes perpetrated within her borders, settlers would be swarming into the 
State by thousands, a.nd in my estimation it is to be only a matter of very 
little time when she will be known in her true aspect, and the result will be a 
tide of emigration for her borders second to that of no State in the Union. 

I must not let this occasion pass without a feeble effort to express the feelings 
of the members of the excursion for the hospitable and generous manner in 
which you havfe received and entertained us on this occasion. Trusting that we 
may in some way have an opportunity at some future time to reciprocate, I close 
my remarks. 

After which Mr. Robinson, of Indiana, offered the following resolutions, which 
were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved^ That the representatives of the Press of the great Northwest here 
unite with the citizens of Arkansas in tendering our heartiest thanks to the Hon. 
Thomas Allen, President, to the Hon. James M. Loughborough, Land Commis- 
sioner, to Col. A. W. Soper, Superintendent, and to the other ofhcers of the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, as well as to Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., 
Land Agents of Little Rock, for the liberal and intelligent spmt of enterprise 
that inaugurated and conducted the excursion by which so many representative 
men of the Northwestern Press have been enabled to meet the citizens of Arkan- 
sas upon their own soil. 

Resolved^ That the meeting thus brought about has proven to all concerned 
that there are no more "bloody chasms" to close, no more "hatchets to bury," 
but that we are all citizens of a common country, upon the one hand, proud of 
the progi'ess of our sister States, and upon the other, anxious that Arkansas may 
speedily achieve the wealth and position due her national advantages. 
3 



34 THE NEW ARKANSAS TUAVELEKS. 

Col. Loughborough, who was on the stand, in a practical but happy manner, 
which was frequently applauded, expressed his acknowledgments. He said, in 
substance : 

The excursion originated in consequence of the e^ddence which he had in the 
course of business, of a great want of knowledge concerning us. He received 
letters from otherwise intelligent persons inquiring if the Indians were still in the 
vicinity, how far people would have to go to hunt buffalo, etc. So that they thought 
they would get a number of the leading editors of the Northwest, and let them 
see for themselves, that they might communicate to the people, through the press, 
what they might observe themselves of the vast resources of the State. After 
getting them into the State, he concluded to bring them to Hot Springs and scald 
them a httle for not having their readers informed, and the next time to skin 
them here if they did not contribute to more enlightenment on the subject of 
Arkansas. He said this undertaking of himself and Col. Mills was under the 
sanction and direction of Col. Thomas Allen, who was absent, etc. He thanked 
the citizens of Hot Springs for the hospitality and courtesy shown, and that the 
visit to Hot Springs had delighted the excursionists and encouraged all. 

At the conclusion of the speech of Col. Loughborough, Mr. C. Aug. Haviland, 
of Chicago, offered the following resolution : 

Resolved^ That the thanks of the representatives of the press be hereby ex- 
tended to the citizens of Hot Springs for their cordial greeting and generous 
hospitality, and for their many acts of kindness we shall ever hold them in grate- 
ful remembrance. 

Which was adopted with applause. 

The ceremonies of the welcome here concluded. The musicians took the plat- 
form. To the lively strains of music the Arlington resounded. Many of the 
excursionists joined in the dancing, while others betook themselves to the wine 
room, where the supply of wines and cigars was exhaustless. Day dawned before 
the sounds of revelry ceased. About 8 o'clock Friday morning the coaches drove 
up and bore "our guests" away, rested, and we hope gratified by their visit. 

The thirteenth and last toast was — 

"OUR FOREIGN BORN CITIZENS. 

"Here they have all the privileges accorded to any one and a hearty welcome." 
Responses by Mr. Albert Cohen, of Little Rock, and J. F. Codd, Esq. , of the 
Land Owner, Chicago, lUinois. 

RESPONSE BY ALBERT COHEN. 

Mr:- President and Gentlemen : — I had little expected to be called upon to make 
any response on this pleasant occasion, and in the humble capacity which 
I hold. I was on the vei'ge of leaving, and intended to do so as soon as the able 
response of Mr. "Ware of Missouri was ended. I was in a retired part of the 
hall when my name was called, and although somewhat frightened, since gen- 
tlemen of such ability and humor have spoken, knowing that I am among those 



AX HOT SPKIXG3. 35 

men who with keen perception criticise, yet I must respond to the toast just 
proposed. Though a German by birth, yet I might say I was born over again in 
Arkansas, since I came liere very young. I can say that my experience has 
been that every foreigner, every man Avith a good countenance and willing hands, 
is welcome here as if to the manor born. Yes, gentlemen, I beseech you 
earnestly, those of you who edit English newspapers, to devote among your 
agricultural columns a small space to Germans ; tell my countrymen that Ar- 
kansas is the State for them ; that they will be received with open arms by all 
of us ; that they are not emigrating to a country where lawlessness reigns supreme, 
but to a country where the laws are obeyed. Do this, and the blessings of the 
present and future generations mil be upon you. Gentlemen and Mr. President, 
I thank you for your kind indulgence. 

The last toast of the evening was "Our foreign friends present." After a few 
well-placed and pleasant remarks by the chairman, George F. Codd, the junior 
partner of the firm of J. M. Wing & Co., editors and proprietors of the Land Owner 
of Chicago, 111. , was loudly called on to respond. It was too far advanced towards 
morning for any lengthened speech from Mr. Codd ; he was therefore compelled 
to confine himself to mere facts, though it was evident that those in his immediate 
vicinity anticipated much pleasure in his response. 

RESPONSE BY G. F. CODD. 

In rising to respond he said : Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Northwestern 
Press, and brother laborers in the field of literature, it is with no small degree of 
justifiable pride and pleasure I rise to the call made upon me, not for the pur- 
pose of idle phraseology or the mere pleasure of pastime, but to try and give you 
a. brief history of my personal experience in distant lands, of my knowledge and 
inspection of agricultural products, cereal and grain crops, fruit and grapes, ore 
and €oal mines, not only in dear old Ireland, my native country, but in England 
And the north part of Swedish Norway. 

When I cast my eyes over this brilliant assemblage, composed of the leading 
men of the great Northwestern Press — men of great learning in arts and sciences, 
men who have been and are engaged in the field of literature — men, in a word, 
who are the teachers of the public and the instructors of this great and glorious na- 
tion, under whose banner I now seek an emigrant's protection ; when I look back 
to a few short years of my past life and glance at the splendor which meets my eyes 
in this banquet hall, when I think of the expectations that now rest upon these 
humble lips, 'tis enough indeed to raise in an humbler breast than mine 

"High thoughts, bright dreams, tlae hope of fame, 
The ambition in America to win a name." 

[Applause.] 

Gentlemen, it is a matter of regret to me that my senior partner, Mr. J. M. 
Wing, the founder of the Land Owner, is not present, for his great practical 
^experience as a journahst, his intimate acquaintance with you all, his extensive 



36 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. | 

knowledge of almost eveiy portion of this and other States in the Union, Ms lorg 
and weU-known experience in all matters connected with land and real estate, so b 
fit him for the position I am now feebly endeavoring to discharge ; but most ( 
pressing and urgent duties compelled him to stop at his office and send me forth ( 
on-this grand and illustrious exploring editorial excursion at the cordial invitation ; 
given us by Col. Loughborongh and the estimable projectors of this great expe- 1 
dition over the glorious golden and cotton fields and through the grand forests of i 
Arkansas. [Applause.] But, gentlemen, I must not shrink from my responsi- 
bility though I regret it, and as all of you may not have passed over the same 
fields in a distant foreign land, any items connected with agricultural productions 
may be of interest to you on this occasion. [Hear, hear.] I have frequently ex- 
amined the specimens of fruits of nearly endless variety ; I have seen in the agri- i 
cultural museum of the Eoyal Dubhn Society all the samples sent there by the best 
Msh farmers and growers ; I have witnessed the selected samples as prizes for the ; 
best productions exhibited in grapes., corn, wheat and potatoes, in endless names 
and various qualities ; I have traveled through the silver, copper and lead mines of 
the county Wicklow ; I have penetrated into the bowels of the mines of the Utrecht 
Mountains of Swedish Norway ; and I say it, gentlemen, on the honor of a man 
who would not by a false statement dishonor Ireland, his much-loved country, that 
in all my past career I never witnessed such specimens as I have seen to-day in 
Little Eock, the iDroducts of the golden lands of Arkansas. [Great applause.] 

Gentlemen, I did not intend to dwell at this length on your patience, but my 
friends in the vicinity of the chair have got a false idea of my power as a speaker, 
but let me tell you they are awfully mistaken if they labor under such a fancy, 
and I trust you will not visit on them yowr jiTst anger for calling on me to address 
you [No, no, go on.] 'Tistrue, gentlemen, everj^ country will not grow or pro- 
duce the same description of crops, and produce the same stock, butter and 
milk, but the soft sweet pastures of the lands of Erin, I believe the entire world 
will admit, have no equal on earth, and this is proved by the luscious flavor of 
our beef, mutton, butter and milk, but American pork beats all nations of the 
earth, and her packers may justly be proud of it. 

I fear I must confine myself here and pos-tpone any further remarks to a future 
meeting. [Cries of recitation resounded from Mr. Codd's quarters and no ex- 
cuse would be accepted.] 

Mr. Codd then delivered one of the most splendid pieces of oratory we ever 
had the pleasure of listening to, and though late was the hour, all seemed pleased 
and gratified, and at its conclusion a round of applause met him when he resumed 
his seat. 

At the close of the banquet. Col. Loughborough announced that Col. E. N. 
Hill would pronounce the benediction.- He said : 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : — At this late hour I do not propose to detain 
you long ; what I might say could hardly add anything to what has been already 
said so well by other and abler men ; but I cannot refrain from stating some things 
which I know from long and patient study, and you need not fear that I will 



AT HOT SPRINGS. 37 

at present "choke 3^011 with statistics," as the foreign gentleman from New 
Jersey (Gen. Pomeroy) warned you I might do. The time is not propitious 
for that style of talk. What I desire to say is this : I have carefully examined 
into the agricultural and mineral resources of Arkansas, and have compared 
them with those of other States with this result, and you can verify my state- 
ment. I make it boldly — 7io other State in this Union, no other country on 
the globe produces as many valuable agricultural products as does Arkansas. 
Different States may excel in one or two things, but where you find this the case, 
you will find that State lacking many things that grow here. So with our mine- 
rals ; we have coal and iron as good as that of Pennsylvania ; silver ore as rich 
as that of Colorado or Nevada ; lead equal to Illinois or Missouri, and many 
other valuable minerals found in none of those States. Then the timber that 
grows upon our soil is worth more than the whole State is now assessed for. 
But to pass to other things, from the inanimate to the animate. It has been 
charged that the people of this State are lawless ; that violence reigned supreme, 
and that hfe and property were not protected by law, more particularly the lives 
of Northern men, such as the guests of this occasion. There was a time in 
Arkansas when, to a limited extent, this charge was true, but that time is past, 
never to return ; our political troubles are settled, never more to be revived. 
None of us propose to act the part of the hyena and dig into the grave of the 
past and scatter the ashes over the present. We shall let the dead past go, and 
look to a better future, and we ask your aid in assisting to bring about that 
future. Arkansas needs men — men of brains — -men of money— men of muscle, 
more particulaiiy the latter; if we can get these, this will soon be one of the 
richest and loveliest States the sun shines upon. In the countries where you 
live there is a superabundance of these men — men who have rescued a frozen 
wilderness from barrenness. Go home when you have seen this State as we shall 
show it to you, and tell them of its soil, its climate, its people, and some of them — 
enough to make us rich and great as a State, without impoverishing you— will 
come here. They will meet as hearty a welcome as you have received. ■ ' 



; 



CHAPTER IV 



ARKADELPHIA. 




Reaving Hot Springs at eight o'clock, Friday morning, it was two in the 
afternoon before the excursionists arrived at Malvern, where their train 
was in waiting to carry them southward. At four o'clock they disem- 
barked at Arkadelphia, and we will let the Southern Standard tell the story of 
their stay. It says: Capt. W. T. Crouch, the Marshal of the day, announced to 
the excursionists, as soon as they disembarked, that an excellent barbecue 
awaited them up town. This announcement was received with enthusiastic ap- 
plause by them, as they had not broken fast since early morning. Arrived at 
the table, they found a most sumptuous feast of barbecued meat with proper 
accompaniments, and from the spirit with which they attacked them, the Southern 
sun and breezes had not impaired their appetites. After satisfying their appe- 
tites, it was announced by Col. Loughborough that they would repair back to 
the train, and after a short run down the road to see a field or two of cotton, 
they would return to this city, when the formal reception would take place. A 
run of four miles brought them to the plantation of Mr. Albert Strong, where the 
train halted, and such of the party as felt disposed got off the train and went 
into the cotton field. It was a novel sight to many of them, it being the first 
time that they had ever been inside of a cotton field or witnessed the process of 
picking. They appeared to be delighted with the scene, and some of them ex- 
pressed themselves in the language of the Queen of Sheba when she beheld the 
magnificence of Solomon's kingdom, "The half has not been told." Leaving a 
portion of the excursionists at this field to examine it further, the train proceeded 
some ten miles farther down the road, but it was too dark to see anything of the 
country. Returning, those left behind were taken on board, and about 7.30 
o'clock the train arrived at the depot, the party disembarked and proceeded to 
the Reames House, where speeches of welcome were made by J. W. Gaulding, 
of the Standard, and^Col. Duane Thompson, who spoke as follows : 

Gentlemen of the Press : — On behalf of the citizens of Clark County, I 
welcome you to Arkadelphia. 



AT ARKADELPHIA. 39 

In my boyhood days I recollect to have read a poem wiitten by Albert W. 
Pike, of Ai-kansas, which commenced, " From the Rio Grande's waters to the ic}^ 
lakes of Maine," and I remeanber that it was written about the battle of Buena 
Vista, or some of those conflicts in Mexico, wherein the sons of the North and 
those of the South were engaged fighting shoulder to shoulder the battles of a 
United Republic ; and, gentlemen, with those memories in my mind, and the fact 
appearing as it does here to-night, that we are still members of a common coun- 
try, I welcome you not only as representatives of the press of this country, but 
as members of ' ' that sisterhood of commonwealths that dot this continent across 
from the rock-bound coast of New England to the Golden Gates of the Pacific," 
and "from the Rio Grande's waters to the icy lakes of Maine," knowing that 
you gentlemen from the North are obser\ang carefully, and will look into the 
resources of Ai'kansas, investigate carefully, and give a fair and correct report 
thereof to the people of the sections that you represent ; that you will also ob- 
serve whether we have a lawless population or not. 

Somewhere I have seen it written that "Whoso bloweth not his own trump, the 
same shall not be blowed ;" but as far as I am concerned, representing this peo- 
ple here to-night, I shall enter into no details in regard to this country further 
than I have done, trusting to your own careful observation to judge for yourselves 
whether or not we have a State replete in everything that should induce persons 
in search of homes to turn their steps towards Arkansas. Gentlemen, in conclu- 
sion I again extend to you a sincere and hearty welcome. 

After which the following sentiments were read by Hon. H. B. Stuart, and 
responded to in the most eloqvient and feeling manner by the gentlemen named 
below : 

"OUR GUESTS. 

"Honorable representatives of the art preservative of all arts, from the great 
Northwest. We recognize the powers they wield ; we show them our land ; offer 
them a cordial welcome, and ask them, when they speak to their thousands of 
readers, to tell them that our hearts are warmer than our suns, and their genial 
heat shall ripen a friendship so warm to those from the Northwest who come among 
us, that it shall bear the fruits of ' the more perfect union ' our fathers sought. ' ' 

Responded to by Col. Sidney Thomas, of Chicago. 

[Col. Thomas not having sent us his manuscript, we cannot publish his 
remarks.] 

The second toast was — 

"THE GREAT NORTHWEST. 

"Maj^ the prosperous and hardy sons of toil who have caused ' the plains and 
forest of that region to bloom as the gardens of the gods,' and ripen the fruits 
that feed a world, turn their strong arms and steady march to Ai'kansas, where 
they will find a soil made richer by nature than was theirs by labor, a people glad 
to welcome them, and fortune that will spring from the gladdened earth in 
response to their steps." 



^^ THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

This toast was eloquently responded to by Mr. H. H. Robinson, of Fort Wayne 
Indiana. He said: ' 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen .-—I am sensible of the responsibihty which 
a proper response to the toast imposes. To speak for the journals of the great 
Northwest, and, in a measure, to commit then- representatives on this excursion to a 
favorable report of the social, pohtical and material condition of the State of Arkan- 
sas, is an office of serious importance. But, my feHow-countr^anen, the three days' 
experience we of the press have had within your borders emboldens me to attempt it. 
I need not descant upon the wonderful growth and influence of the section of the 
RepubHc which has such an incomparable channel of commerce as our joint Missis- 
sippi. I need not enlarge upon the relations which must ever exist between the 
great commonwealth of the North and Southwest here represented. They are sis- 
ters of the great American family, dissimilar in features, it may be, but happily not 
less fair and loyal. Their reconciliation has become complete, and their co-operation 
promises to make our national centenary illustrious. It is especially gratifying 
on this occasion to recall the prompt, earnest and unequaled ser\dces for peace 
and concord, which were rendered, even to martyrdom, by America's great 
editor, Horace Greeley. It is his example which the entire press of the land, 
with few exceptions, are follomng to-day ; and I am glad to assure you, feUow- 
countrjonen of Arkansas, that we come to see you with the most cordial aims. 
Everywhere during our trip have we found fraternal greeting. We have encouu; 
tered nothing that forbids a hearty commendation. The roughest part of our tour 
was but a pleasant jolt ; and if we got into "hot water " it was because we eagerly 
sought the springs of health. And what purification and delight they afforded! 
To our view your sky has been not only " darkly, deeply, beautifully blue," but 
charmingly serene— fit token of your social and political hfe. The only clouds in 
your aerial space have been so soft and fleecy as to suggest the beauty'and power 
of cotton. We have seen that great staple gathered this afternoon, and beside it 
such a vast growth of corn as to suggest that, in this county of Clark, you have 
but ' ' to tickle the soil mth the hoe to make it laugh with a harvest. ' ' From such 
an experience as I have thus outlived, ladies and gentlemen of Arkadelphia, you 
may infer how readily the representatives of the Press will commend the general 
state of things in Ai-kansas, and urge sturdy hands and brisk capital to share 
your great possibihties. I thank you for the consideration you have given me. 
The third toast was — 

"COL. J. M. LOUGHBOROUGH, 

Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad 
and Messi^. T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, the gentlemen to whose enter- 
prise we owe the pleasure of meeting to-day's excursionists. May they meet 
with a reward commensurate to the energy and enterprise they have displayed, 
and may their eff-orts to induce immigration to our beloved State be crowned 
with success." 



AT AKKADELPHIA. ' 41 

It was ably responded to by Col. E. N. Hill, of Little Eock, who represented 
the Chicaego Inter- Ocean. He said: 

Ladies and Gentlemen and Fellow-citizens : — It was well enough, for my respected 
friend, Judge Stewart, to introduce the speakers who have preceded me, but to 
an audience of Arkansians I need no introduction, and the excursionists of this 
party have become tolerably well acquainted with the sound of my voice, as I 
came from St. Louis with them. I have been requested to respond to a resolu- 
tion complimentary to Messrs. Loughborough and Mills, the gentlemen who 
organized and have carried out so successfully tliis excursion. The well-known 
modesty of both these gentlemen rendered it necessary that some one should 
speak for them, and with due regard to the eternal fitness of things, I was 
selected, because I was known to be the most modest man in the State. What 
shall I sa.y? That they have well deserved the compliment tendered, we all 
know. When we look bej^^ond the present and endeavor to glance into the 
future, can we not see that the}'- deserve more? It would seem that an almost 
impenetrable wall had been built around Arkansas to prevent people from other 
States entering into one of the fairest domains God ever made for His people, 
or that a banner like that which the Templars of old carried — black and terrible 
upon one side, to dismay their enemies — had been hoisted over Arkansas, and 
that the black side had been displayed. In fact, there has been such a wall and 
such a banner. It was a wall of prejudices and a banner of falsehood, and 
they have kept us isolated, poor and unknown. The gentlemen whom you 
have complimented have done much to break down that wall and tear down that 
banner. They have for months been laboring to show the people of the North- 
west that this State — poor, contemned, despised, ridiculed, maligned and hated 
Arkansas — was the place for them to come when seelring homes. They have told 
of its rich soil, its valuable timber, its immense mineral deposits, its genial cli- 
mate and law-observing people, and- have asked them to come amongst us and see 
these things for themselves, and now the}^ have brought into your midst a hun- 
dred representatives of the press, who will go to their homes and report, as did 
the Queen of Sheba when, attracted by the tales of his wealth, she visited "the 
magnificent Solomon, "that the half has not been told them." Should this 
report which I know that these gentlemen- will make, attract the tide of emigra- 
tion this way, and build up our State, then the people of the State, both the old 
and the new settlers, will owe to Messrs. Mills and Loughborough a lasting debt 
of gratitude. 

To you gentlemen who are visiting Arkansas I would say, tell the story of 
what you have seen and heard, each in his own way. You can safely say you 
have seen a rich country, cheap lands, a good climate, and a hospitable people ; 
that any one who comes here to live mil meet with a heartj^ welcome and wiU 
not be asked in what army he served, or what are his politics. We have had 
one more war than the balance of the United States, and yet you see Brooks and 
Baxter men minghng together here with perfect friendliness, as you have seen 
to-night a Federal and a Confederate soldier, each standing where I do, to give 



42 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

you a hearty welcome to Arkadelphia. States are nat miere pieces, of land 
surrounded by certain boundaries. It is the people, the men who reside within 
these boundaries, that make the State. Tell your people who may desire tO' 
change their homes, to come here and help us to make the State. We need, 
their help as much as they need our rich and cheap lands. Let them come and 
unite with us in making of Ai'kansas, what she was intended to be by nature, one 
of the principal States of this great American Union ; one of the brightest stars 
that shines in its flag. 

The fourth toast was — 

"THE NATION. 

"May the bonds of love and friendship which unite it grow firmer as years 
advance, and the stars upon its flag increase in number and brilliancy,, uaatil their 
radiance shall overshadow a continent, and untold millions of freemen shall rest 
in safety under its broad folds, until in heart, hand and interest, free as the air 
that kisses the mountain tops, and rich in all that makes a nation great — brave 
and honest men, and fair and virtuous women." 

This toast was eloquently responded to by Gen. A. W. Bishopv of Little Eock^ 
as follows : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen: — The summons canse to me with but little 
warning to respond to this toast and sentiment ; but we are essaying now in 
Arkansas to move forward with no uncertain step, so I plunge at once into what I 
ra&y have to say in response to your generous call. The Nation is toasted. 
God guard the great fact that once again we have a Nation. The sections are 
reuniting, "twin giants" that watch over "the sea and land," and, as of old, 
when George the Third sought to put his heavy hand u.pon the resources of the 
country, the people of the North and South ai-e fraternizing as they have not 
done for the past ten years, and sensible men everywhere wish: to bury in the 
completest oblivion the jarring \'iews and bitter hate that characterized our 
conduct toward each other a decade ago. 

And, fellow-citizens, I hail it as an encouraging: sign of the times, and. 
especially so above and beyond all others, that we have with, us here to-night, 
"down in Dixie," so large and influential a representation of the Press of the 
great West ; confident, I beheve, in the good- will to themj of this people, their- 
prejudices scattered to the winds, all apprehension of pei'sonal danger dissipa^ 
ted, and the only conquering done that brought about by the cordiality of the 
reception which our citizens at Little Rock, Hot Springs, and here, have only been 
too happy to have had the opportunity of giving. We must forget this war that. 
we have had, and we must show our forgetf alness by our acts. It is nonsense. 
to be otherAvise now than brethren. Wlien we " let, sleep the spark that fired the 
match-lock," in spirit and in action, we should liave become friends again, and, 
although such a wish did not at once father tlxe fact, the skies ai-e brightening, 
now, and the contests that agitate our American commiTuities ea,tch> their inspira- 
tion from the clashing elements of peace alone. The bench, the bar and the. 



AT ARKADELPHIA. 4S' 

pulpit are hacking away, as in the olden time, upon tenet and doctrine. The 
scarred but survi\dng participants in a hundred battles are smarting now under 
the wounds that the clergy inflict ; and 

' " Heroes shall fall who strode unharmed away 

From the red heaps of many a doubtful day ; 
Hacked in their sermons, riddled in their prayers, 
The broadcloth slashing what the broadsword spares." 

And so is it throughout civil life. The rivalries of peace give the time and the 
hour their zest, and what just now is more significant than all else, the foun- 
tains of political power and influence are breaking up. The old catch-words, 
have lost their grip, and money, which, in spite of the theories of political econ- 
omists, will regulate the value of all other commodities and is itself regulated 
by none, will dictate the platforms of the next Presidential campaign. 

Gentlemen of the Press of the West, you come here at the beginning of a. 
transition period. We have had our troubles in Ai'kansas and more than our 
share of trouble. A year and a half ago we had a little war of our own, but 
it is all over with now, and we feel that we can say to you, with confidence ancL 
encouragement, send here your farmers and mechanics, your day laborers and 
professional men. We have the climate and the soil, the forests and the rivers^ 
and we say to you, as the undoubted truth, that there is only needed the influ- 
ence of capital and industry, inharmonious action, to make this much-abused 
and long-suffering State one of the brightest stars in the national galaxy. 

The fifth toast was — 

"THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. 
' ' May its growth be onward and upward. ' ' 

This was well responded to by Gen. H. W. McMillan, of Arkadelphia. 

Judge H. B. Stewart, of Arkadelphia, then said : 

Gentlemen of the Grand Editorial Excursion party and my home friends : — It 
is now growing late at night, and I am suff'ering from severe headache, and havfr 
been during the greater part of the evening, and for this, as well as other good 
reasons, I would have been glad that my home friends had excused me from 
being called as one of the speakers to-night. Our citizens met immediately after 
notice that our distinguished guests intended doing us the honor to visit us, and 
provided for their reception as best we could under the short notice ; and two of 
our distinguished citizens who have just addressed you were appointed as the 
speakers to represent our people, to welcome the distinguished strangers to our 
midst, and to share our hospitality during their brief sojourn with us. Such 
being the fact, and having another duty assigned me in the programme of recep- 
tion, I had no expectation of making any remarks to-night, and what I may say 
will necessarily be disconnected, impromptu^ and without a moment's pre\ious 
consideration or reflection. 



44 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELEKS. 

Id the speeches that you have hsteiiecl to to-night, and that have preceded me, 
you have been told of our soil, our climate, our crops, our hidden and unde- 
veloped mineral wealth and of our people, and it will not be necessary for me to 
say much on any of these points. It is not to be expected that j^ou gentlemen 
of the press, in passing so rapidly over our State, can see our lands, crops and 
people so as to form a complete and entirely satisfactory estimate of the worth 
and character of either. You have, however, pursued the proper course. You 
have comfe among us and seen for yourselves, and I am proud to meet you and 
honor you for the visit ; and I believe, as all you gentlemen have stated in your 
speeches, to which we have listened with so much pleasure, that you wiU do us 
full justice when you return to your homes ; and that is all we ask, and all that 
we could expect. 

The present crop of Arkansas, I admit, with favorable weather for gathering, 
will be more than an average jdeld under our system of cultivation, but perhaps not 
an average crop with the superior and improved cultiA^ation that has been so wisely 
adopted and practiced in the States from which you come. But as it is, we cannot 
only feed you and all who come among us, but we can also clothe you from our 
cotton fields, and give you some very good wool, also, to "mix" with it. You need 
have no apprehensions of "freezing out" here, even were it twice as cold as it is. 

I was deUghted with a remark made by one of the eloquent speakers of the 
excursion party, who stated in his speech that the press of the United States was 
in favor of a reconciliation, of the restoration of good feeling between the people 
of the North and South. This, in my humble opinion, is the true sentiment, the 
true feeling that should control, not only the press, but every citizen of the United 
States. And if the press of the United States, or a large majority of its members, 
desire reconciliation, it will be so. The press is omnipotent, in a great measure, 
in the United States, as it is in all governments where the will of the people is 
sovereign. And just here I wish to say in behalf of Ai'kansas and of our new 
government, that the great mass of our people are as peaceable, as law-abiding 
as the people of any of the States you have the honor to represent. Their funda- 
mental law, the new Constitution, is of their "own handiwork," made by their 
chosen rep^'esentatives, and b}^ them indorsed by an unprecedented majority at 
the ballot-box. Our State government is a government of the people and for the 
people, and secures to all Ufe, hberty and the pursuit of happiness, without regard 
to "race, color or previous condition," and the great mass of our people are 
determined to obey the law, maintain peace, good order and good government 
themselves, and are further fally determined that all others shall do the same. 
And I speak by authority when I say I care not from what land or clime you 
may come, if you come among us to be one of us, and to make a good citizen, 
you will not only be protected and secure in life and propert}^, in whatever 
pursuits you may see proper to engage, but our people will ever be found wilUng 
to extend to you a generous hospitality and a helping hand. 

And why should we not be friends ? Why not be reconciled ^ith each other, 
.and forget the lamented past differences, its bitter trouble? "Wlij^^ not bury all 



» AT AEKADELPHIA. 45^ 

its mournful sadness in a common oblivion? The cause that once separated us 
is gone, and forever gone ; gone to know no resurrection in the great future or 
this government. Why not aU, North, South, East and West, love a common 
country, and strive to promote each other's prosperity, and the prosperity of 
each and every section of this great country? Our domain is almost boundless^ 
with a soil and chmate that has the capacity to supply every necessary of life, 
with all the luxuries, not only to its own population, but the half of Europe 
besides. Love our whole coxuitry, forget the past, and look to the future. 

Look at England, in her httle insular position, with her eleven millions or there- 
abouts of inhabitants, and yet she boasts that the sun never goes down upon 
her dominions. And as small as the territorj^ is that composes the kingdom of 
Great Britain, * she at one time, single- handed and alone, bid defiance to the 
combined powers of nearly all Europe. She justly ranks among the fh'st of the 
great powers of the earth. And why so? Because her people are intelligent and 
united, love their government and sustain her laws. France, with a territory 
perhaps not more than three times larger than Arkansas, supports in ease, and in 
many instances with all the elegant and costly luxuries, a population of over forty 
millions, and is also justly classed among the great powers of the earth. The 
leading cause of this greatness is that her people love France, and will defend 
her honor with their Uves, as has often been tested upon hundreds of blood- 
stained and gory battle-fields. Love our whole country ! Yes ; from Maine to 
California. Love our icy lakes, our snow-capped mountains ; love our great 
Northwest, down to the sunny South and the seething waters of the Gulf of 
Mexico ; and forget, 3^es, yes, forget, our late unnatural and unhappy struggle ; 
and each of us remember and love the graves of the brave and gallant heroic 
soldiers of the Federal and Confederate dead. Eemember, many of them sleep 
side by side beneath the sod of mother earth, near by where they struggled and 
fell, now sleeping quietly in their graves awaiting the judgment day. The poet 
tells us that "there is grandeur in graves, and glory in gloom," and he insists that 

" Out of the gloom future brightness is born,. 
As after the night comes the sunlight of morn." 

This is a hopeful view of a sad picture, and my hope is that our whole people, 
when they pass among and think of the graves of the gallant dead who fell on 
either side in our late contest, may say and feel in truth, here is 

" Love and tears for the Blue, 
And tears and love for the Gray." 

And when this reconciliation takes place in a s^Dirit of love and patriotism, and 
is an accomplished fact, we can have no just conception of the future greatness 
of our country. Why may not many of the American States support and main- 
tain a population of twenty millions ? And we may safely calculate that the time 
is not far distant in the liistory of the American nation when, instead of forty 
millions, we \vill boast of one hundred millions inhabitants. And why not, with our 
immense territory, and our superior advantages of government, soil, chmate 



46 THI-: xi:\v ai;kaxsas travelers. 

and productions, may we not some day hope to rival in numbers the Chinese 
Empire with her three liundred millions ? Should this occur, and occur it may, and 
with the superior intelligence of the American people to control and direct the 
energies, sldll and power of these millions of human beings, we may, as a nation 
and people, hope to accomplish even more than the patriotic founders of our gov- 
ernment expected of their posterity, or that the most sanguine and laudable 
ambition could desire. 

With such brilliant hopes and aspirations to nerve us on to duty, patriotism 
and love of country, why should we not forget each other's faults and foibles^ 
and live for each other and those to come after us, our children — looldng only to 
"the past that we may avoid its errors and trouble in the future ? When we look 
i,o the bright side of our past history, and see what we have accpmphshed in the 
■first hundred years of our national existence and experiment of self-government 
"by the people, and by prophetic ken raise the vail of the future for the next one 
hundred years to come, and contemplate the condition of millions of happy, 
intelligent and patriotic human beings who will from now until then enjoy the 
"blessings of American Hberty and self-government, we ought to be united, and 
proudly exclaim — 

" Land of the free, no tongue can tell 
The love I bear to thee." 

I have detained you much longer than I expected, and fear I have wearied 
your patience. With the hope to see you again often in our midst, and that 
many of you and the people of your States will migrate within and form a part 
and parcel of our beloved and adopted Arkansas, I bid you all good-night. 

The next speaker was Capt. James A. Rudd, the representative of the St. Louis 
Times, who said: 

It scarcely becomes me to speak on this occasion, for instead of being a guest, 
I am more of an Arkansian because I am a Missourian. I might justly, there- 
fore, claim that those who have come among us to partake of our hospitality, and to 
see for themselves what we possess in the way of water, land, timber, climate, 
mineral, soil, society, educational facilities, and peaceful government, should be 
permitted, first of all, to talk to us and teU us their experience ; but, lest you 
imagine that I want to claim citizenship because I do not want to be sociable, I, 
■as a Missourian — though still a double first cousin to the Arkansians — tell my expe- 
riencfe of a visit that, when it is long over and past, will be recalled as one of the 
most delightful of my Mfe. 

Col. Loughborough naturally belongs to us, bvit if Arkansas wants him, Arkansas 
€an have him, because Arkansas can get anything Missouri possesses in the way 
of true manhood or pure gold. But when Loughborough came up among us the 
other day and asked us all to go with him into Ai'kansas, I knew what was to be 
found ni Aii?;ansas as well as Loughborough himself did. And what was to be 
found ? I will tell you. A hospitality that never was excelled ; a welcome such 
rsis the weary traveler received — your own inimitable Sandy FauEfner, if you 



AT ARKADKLPIIIA. 47 

please — when it was known that he could play the other part of the lost tune ; a 
princely greeting that was born of your hearts and sprung spontaneously from 
your high-bred courtesy, and a real genuine, old fashioned hand-shaldng and 
home-bringing which you inherited from your lion-hearted ancestry, and which, 
:amid nian}^ dark and unfortunate things, you have preserved as a priceless heir- 
loom and kept undimmed and unspotted through it all. 

No State in all the Union excels your own in all that is alluring to capital and 
attractive to emigration. I have known this for years, but my associates here 
to-night have just taken in the whole situation at a glance, and will go back to 
their homes, sowing broadcast and liberally seeds that will take root everywhere 
for the advancement of Ai-kansas and the prosperity of her people. 

" For Saxon, or Norman, or Dane are we, 
But all of us Danes in our tribute to thee," ' 

Arkansas. 

Others will come after me who have not roamed among your mountains as I 
have, nor camped by your streams, nor dwelt in the tents of your people, nor 
mingled in the councils of your children, nor received honors and rewards at the 
hands of your chosen ones ; and I want to hear how candidly they will bear testi- 
mony to a welcome that has been an ovation, and to a series of entertainments 
that have been genuine home-bringings as well as magnificent feasts. 

Thanldng you sincerely for the privilege of being permitted to put on record a 
feeling that with me is best expressed by silence, I bid you good-night as well 
also as good-morning, for I turn again to the feast made gracious with true 
Arkansas hospitality. 

Mr. Eudd was foUlowed by "W. G. Dilts, of Ironton, Missouri, who spoke as 
follows : 

Friends and Fellow-citizens of this the most glorious country on earth : — We, as 
the representatives of the Northwestern Press, tender you our sincere thanks, 
both for ourselves and those whom we represent, for the kind, cordial welcome 
which we have received from you and other citizens of your State. It only 
needs that that " touch of nature which makes the whole world kin " be referred 
to, to show VIS, and you, that we are, indeed and in truth, all citizens of one 
common country ; that her interests are our interests, and her destiny our 
destiny. 

We have come among you for no incendiary purpose, and with no hidden or 
secret motive, but simply to see you and know you as you are ; and if, as we 
suspect, you are a people whose highest aim and whose greatest ambition is, as 
it shoud be, the advancement of the cause of liberty, religion, education, and 
morality — in short, all that goes towards making us wiser and better, and a 
united people — we desire to know these things for ourselves, that we may tell 
them to the thousands of your Northern brethren, many of whom have long 
believed that the name "Southron" was synonymous with "savage." We desire 
to tell you also that the citizens of the great Northwest are your friends, and 



48 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the friends of your race. They are ready with you to aid in maldng this nation 
what nature intended it should Ibe, the ])anner nation on the face of the earth. 
All we need to attain to this high position is industry, energy, and the full use of 
the bounteous provision made by nature and placed ready to our hand. We 
should also labor to suppress those disturbing elements which have rent and well 
nigh ruined the prosperity of many of our States. But we see in your actions 
and in your conversation since we have come among you, that it is time wasted 
to refer to your past as a warning for your future com-se ; we see that you have 
anticipated ail that we might say on this point ; that you have cast aside all hin- 
drances of the past, and that you are now united in trying who can best work 
and best agree. You have every encouragement for success ; you have that 
happy blending of climate, that by its mild but invigorating salubrity has the 
best effect on animal and vegetable life ; and at the same time you escape the 
rigors of a more northern latitude ; you have in your midst all the resources 
which are needed to build up a great and successful State. Your forests and 
your prairie lands ; your minerals aiid water privileges ; joivc contiguity to the 
great Father of Waters, on whose broad bosom has been borne the traffic of a 
great nation for generations, and whose future usefulness may not be computed — 
aU tend to show that of yourselves you need but time to become one of the 
brightest stars in our confederation of States. 

With the help of labor and capital, which we feel bound to believe will soon 
flow in upon you, the time will not be far distant when you will reahze your 
'^^rightest anticipations. 

Our interests are your interests, and we hope when next we visit you to find 
you with a teeming population, and every avenue of business so filled that there 
shall scarcely be standing room. 

My friends, it needs no prophetic voice to say that a grand future awaits our 
country. From four miUions less than a century ago, our population has in- 
creased to forty millions ; a century hence will find in us a rival in point of num- 
bers to many of the older nations of the East, and in prosperity we will have 
distanced them all. From Asia, Africa, England, Scotland, and Wales ; from 
Germany, Austria, and Hungary; from France, Belgium, and Italy; from all 
points of the habitable earth, near and remote, year after year, and decade after 
decade, is coming the steady flow of immigration to our shores ; and all those 
nations are rearing populations to augment the grand total of humanity in the 
United States. The duty of our government to these people is plain. We must 
provide for then- protection and for their education. 

We hold that the education of the people is the corner-stone on which the 
superstructure of government rests ; and without it no nation can permanently 
prosper, as history will show in numberless instances. 

We look foi-ward to the day when, from the point of land that is habitable 
nearest the North Pole, to the shores of the great gulf; from the furthest eastern 
point extending into the Atlantic to the placid shores of the Pacific Ocean, the 
whole of this vast continent may become one great confederation of States, 



AT ARKADELPHIA. 49 

■witlioiit a standing army, without a great nayy, and with not a custom-hoiise 
throughout the whole breadth of the land ; not mixing itself up with entangle- 
ments of European pohtics, but every man a politician, attending to the affairs 
of his own State and country ; with an educated, upright and God-fearing people, 
and with freedom everyT\^here ; then the Eutopian land would at last be found, 
and there would be at least some hope that man is not forsaken of heaven, and 
that the future of our race may be better than the past. 

In view of the manner in which you have received us as visitors, we can but 
conclude that you mean to make your State a success. We bid you God-speed, 
and will lend a helping hand where and whenever we are able ; and when you 
come North we know you wiU not find us lacking in hospitality and welcome. 

Judge H. J. Shirk, of Peru, Indiana, being called upon, said : 

Mr. President^ Ladies and. Gentlemen : — I am not sure that my dear friend from 
Xittle Eock is right in his assumption of there being cotton-fields and cities on the 
planets, but just now I wish I were the man in the moon ; having no toast to 
speak to, I am at a loss to know just what should be said, not being accustomed 
to shooting without a target. Perhaps a word as to impressions made on my 
mind by these four days' observations would be the best thing to speak of. While 
en route from Moark (" And such a name ! " said a quill-driver at my side, but 
on being told it was two great States put together, he said unique') to Little 
Rock, I was a little disposed to go back on Arkansas, but after our magnificent 
reception at Walnut Ridge, Judsonia, etc., and seeing the wheat, corn and cotton 
being marketed at the various stations, I could but reahze that it was a country 
of great susceptibilities, and often I asked myself the question, what will this 
country be when improved like Northern Indiana ? Those little villages nestUng 
now among the oaks and pines are destined to become thriving cities and towns, 
centers of populous, grain-growing and stock-raising communities. On receiving 
an invitation to join this excursion, and seeing Col. T. B. Mills' name attached to 
it, I made up my mind that we were to have a splendid time, for I knew by ten 
years' acquaintance he was a splendid man, and I knew, too, that Arkansas was 
full of splendid land or he would not be here in the land business. And, now 
gentlemen of this great State, allow me to say that it is my firm conviction that 
you have the elements to make of Arkansas one of the wealthiest States in the 
Union. Kansas and Nebraska on the north must have pine boards and oak posts 
or remain a wilderness. Your State has pine and oak enough to fence the 
"American desert." St. Louis needs coal to smelt the lead and iron that come 
to her for manufacture. You have the best of coal in well nigh exhaustless 
quantities. But laying aside these demands of your neighbors upon you, Ai^kan- 
sas can make for herself a mighty nation. You have no need to depend on any 
other State for an3'-thing but horny-handed honest men to assist in the develop-^ 
ment of joxxx country. Do you need corn? What gigantic crops now bur- 
den' your soil! You can grow corn-stalks whose tassels nod with scorn at the 
puny stalks grown in lUinois, where corn is king. Do you need wheat? Your 
warehouses are now filled with a surplus of wheat equal in quahty to Michigan's 
best. Your fruits, your grapes, your vegetables, none of them inferior, while the 
4 



50 THE NEW AKKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

ex(iellence of your waters tkronghout the State, and the picturesque and medi- 
cinal virtues of springs in A^arious parts, together with a magnificent chmate, 
give to your State advantages almost unsurpassed. And, gentlemen, he who 
lives to see Arkansas two decades hence, with its 'prairies and forests teeming 
with millions of toilers ; its valleys thr.eaded with the iron road ; its cities resound- 
ing with the sound of forge and spindle ; may, when looking at the national, 
escutcheon, see fifty stars ghttering there ; but the Arkansian can point proudly 
to the one that glitters brightest and say, that is my own State ! And of a galaxy 
of grand States, I am proud of my own Arkansas. Thank you, gentlemen, for- 
the welcome you have given us. 

The Standard closes its account of the visit to Arkadelphia in this wise : 
"From their manner and the tone of their remarks, we are satisfied that the 
excursionists were highly delighted not only with our country but our people, 
and that they wiU give a favorable report of both through their columns to their 
milli ons of Northwestern readers, and that their coming amongst us will result in 
a better understanding and a more cordial relationship between the two great 
sections, and in lasting good to both. We know that the impression made upon 
our people by them was most favorable, for all agree that a more genial, social, 
gentlemanly and clever body of men they never met. For the inauguration 
and successful carrying out of this grand scheme the people of Arkansas are 
under lasting obligations to Cols. J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills, for it 
wiU do more toward bringing our State into general and favorable notice than, 
any other measure that could possibly have been adopted." 

At two o'clock on Saturday morning, the train arrived at the depot in Little: 
Rock, it ha^ang been previously arranged that the company would divdde on Sat- 
urday, part of it going west over the Little Rock and Fort Smith road, and the 
remainder east, over the Memphis and Little Rock road. After an early break- 
fast tills arrangement was carried out, and the next chapter will contain an. 
account of these trips. 



CHAPTER V. 




OVER THE FORT SMITH AND MEMPHIS ROADS. 



||HE OFFICERS of the Memphis and Little Rock, and Little Rock and 
Fort Smith roads, having, through Messrs. Loughborough and Mills, 
tendered invitations to their guests to make a trip over these roads, 
and Saturday being the last day at then- disposal, the party divided about equally, 
one-half going east, the other west. We leave the description of the trip over 
the Fort Smith road to the Little Rock Evening Star of October 4th. It says : 

About forty of our editorial guests accepted an invitation from the Little Rock 
and Fort Smith Railroad Company to take a trip over that line and look at the 
fine scenery and enjoy the hospitalities of the vfestern portion of the State. 
The train left Argenta about eight a. m, , in charge of Capt. Theo. Hartman, 
Superintendent, and Hon. W. D. Slack, Land Commissioner for the road. 
Col. A. P. Curry, Dr. Wilcox, G-. H. Hyde, Thos. Lafferty, and others of our 
citizens accompanied the excursionists. At Lewisburg a fine showing of fruit, 
grain and vegetables was made. Rev. Mr. Stout and others joined the train at 
Lewisburg. 

The guests next visited the Ouita coal mine, the fiouring miUs and gins of 
Clarksville, and the Spadra coal mines, which were explored while they sano- 
" Down in a Coal Mine." While a part were exploring these mines the rest went 
on to AltuSj and several proceeded on the stage to Fort Smith. Returning at 
about six o'clock p. m., the train reached Russellville, where an elegant supper 
was spread through the generosity of the railroad company and Capt. Hartman. 
At the close of the repast, resolutions thanking the oflicers of the road and the 
citizens on its line for their courtesy and kindness were adopted. 

The Daily Gazette of the 5th says of the trip over the Memphis road : 

When the editorial excursion party divided at this place Saturday morning, 
part going East and part West, a considerable majority of the company accepted 
a train tendered them by the Memphis and Little Rock road for a ride across the 
prairie section of the State to Forrest City. 



52 THE NEW ARKANSAS TfiAVELEKS. 

At Lonoke the train stopped only for a few minutes — just long enough, to let 
our visitors meet a delegation of citizens in waiting for them at the depot, and 
take a short walk through the town. 

At Carlisle their stay was longer ; the train stopped about an hour, and Gov. 
Hadley made the following address of welcome : 

Gentlemen of the Press : — In behalf of the citizens of Carlisle and vicinity, I 
bid you welcome to our prairie home. Ckcumstances forbid our tendering you 
the same hospitalities you have received at the capital and other cities in the 
State, but I assure you that your coming is greeted with as much pleasure by 
the tillers of the soil upon these broad prairies, as any other class of out citizens 
in any part of the State. 

Our people are mostly engaged in agricultural pursuits, gathering wealth from 
the earth by growing the productions of a fertile soil in a climate unsurpassed in 
anj^ country. The fine fruit, vegetables and cereals before you are specimens of 
the product of their labor. Our town is small, but young; the surrounding 
country is sparsely settled but new. Three years ago this town did not exist, 
and these prairies, where j^ou see farms being opened and comfortable houses 
erected, was one vast expanse, where the axman and plowman had not intruded. 
The seasons came and went with regular precision ; the luxuriant grass sprang 
into life each spring, to be swept away in the fall by the red-tongued flre-king of 
the prauie. What a change is taldng place ! Already quite a portion of this 
land is utilized, and instead of ashes as the only result of the season's growth, we 
have thousands of tons of hay, wheat-bins and corn-cribs full to overflowing, 
with many broad acres snowy-white with cotton ready for the gatherer. 

Our people are well satisfied with the country, and are contented, believing 
that few countries, if any, possess superior advantages. You will observe our 
prairies have one feature rarely found in any of the prauies of the Northwestern 
States, and that is, they are skirted by large belts of timber, and these belts are 
interspersed throughout the entu'e prame, -almost at regular distances, upon 
nearly the same level as the prairie, nature having done her work nobly in pre- 
paring the farm for occupancy ; and, what is also very unusual, the timber is 
large, tall and straight, and consists of the most valuable varieties for the 
farmer's use. 

Gentlemen, we welcome you, not only as representatives of that conoueror more 
powerful than the sword, but as fellow-citizens of another portion of our common 
country. You have come here for the laudable purpose of learning something of 
our State and people, to enable j^ou to publi&h the facts to the world as you see 
them and 4cnow them to exist. The salubrity of the climate, the productions of 
the soil, the rich rolling prairies and the specimens of minerals you have seen, 
are all self-evident facts of which you can speak from actual knowledge and 
observation. Of our people, I suppose you clesu-e to learn something of their 
thoughts and feelings, as well as to see what their tastes and habits are. Know- 
ing that the people of the Northern States, and especially those who contemplate 
making this State their future home, are anxious to learn the poUtical status of 



OVER THE FORT SMITH AND MEMPHIS ROADS. 53 

our people, and what kind of reception they would receive, I unhesitatingly 
say that this community — and I have not the least doubt but that the same is 
true of the entire State — are loyal to the State and National Government, and 
desire peace and harmony to prevail throughout the entu-e country. The bitter- 
ness engendered by the late war has passed away, and the commingling of the 
Northern and Southern people has comdnced all that they are one people, with a 
common national interest ; and should a foreign power attempt to tarnish our 
honor as a nation, or place a stain upon our flag, they would stand side by side 
in defence of that flag, as they stood on last Decoration Day paying honor to the 
fallen heroes of the late civil strife. How heroic, how noble, how grand, the 
Federal and Confederate uniting in a grand floral tribute to those who fell like 
brave soldiers, fighting for what they believed to be the right. 

Gentlemen, our rich alluvial bottoms, fertile prairies, uplands and mountain 
slopes furnish as great a variety of soils, adapted to as much variety in tillage 
and productions, as any State or country under the sun. Quite a large por- 
tion of our State is underlaid with inexhaustible veins of coal, while iron, zinc, 
galena, and other valuable ores and metals, exist in great abundance. Our 
people well understand that fine lands, rich ores and valuable timber are worth- 
less unless developed with labor and capital, and, without prejudice or animosity, 
they invite good citizens to come, not questioning their religious opinions or 
political afiihations and spupathies, but will extend to them the right hand of 
fellowship, and will give them a hearty and" cheerful welcome. The present 
Executive of the State is a man of honor and strict integrity, as well as acknowl- 
edged ability, who has the confidence of the people as fully as any former occu- 
pant of the gubernatorial chair ever had. The people are peaceable and kindly 
disposed to each other and all who come among them. The laws are executed 
promptly and impartially, and I know of no good reason why Arkansians are not 
and should not be a happy and contented people. 

I hope your \dsit to our State will prove a pleasure to you, and furnish a 
source of information to all the people of our great country in elucidating the 
truth to such an extent that all will be benefited, that we may know and under- 
stand each other as the difi'erent membei'S of one great national brotherhood 
should know and understand each other, for by such intercommunication the 
bonds of friendship and nationality will become so firmly cemented, that should 
the tocsin of war sound from afar, a solid phalanx of forty millions of freemen 
would be heeded and respected by all the nations of the earth. 

At the conclusion of Gov. Hadley's address, the visitors availed themselves of 
the opportunity to see -the town and surrounding country. They all expressed 
themselves dehghted with the prairies of Arkansas, and declared them as beau- 
tiful as any in the world. The people of Carlisle had hastily gathered a collec- 
tion of fruits and grain raised in that vicinity, and had the same arranged for 
the examination of their guests. They made a good exhibition, and showed our 
friends from the North that our wheat and apples will compare well with the 
best produced in any country, while a pear weighing two pounds and four ounces 
was pronounced by all the finest specimen they ever saw. A new cotton-gin in 



54 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

operation at Carlisle was a great curiosity to most of the party, and the exten- 
sive hay-pressing establishments in that place were also the subject of much 
interest. 

After leaving Carhsle the train made short stops at Brinkley, at Black's MiU and 
at Devall's Bluff, and reached Forrest City about thi-ee o'clock in the afternoon. 
A large delegation of citizens awaited the arrival of the train at the depot, and 
the excm-sionists were escorted to a public hall, where a formal reception was 
given them by the Mayor of the city, who said : 

Gentlemen : — As the chosen representative and Mayor of our town, I am happy 
to greet you with a hearty welcome, and I regret that the accommodations of 
this om- inland country do not comport with the more extravagant hospitality 
you have met with in cities of greater wealth and population. But be assured, 
gentlemen, that from the great deep of our hearts, with true and generous feel- 
ings of Southern magnanunity, we in>dte you to our homes and the companion- 
ship of our families, and we earnestly trust that during your short stay with us 
you may blend your feelings with ours in that warm and genial manner which 
proves the touchstone of Southern hospitahty. 

The response on the part of the visitors was by Mr. C. Aug. Haviland, 
who said: 

Many of those who visit your State to-day have visited you on other occasions 
less pleasant than this. Then they came as enemies, to-day they come as 
brothers and friends, bearing the ohve-branch of peace, and recognizing the fact 
that your sons and brothers were no less earnest, no less devoted to principle, 
than were our own sons and brothers of the North. We find your deeds of 
heroism recorded in letters of gold upon every page of our country's history, side 
by side with those of our own brave boys in blue, and we believe that with one 
country, one flag and one destiny, we shall dwell together as brothers and friends 
for evermore. 

A committee of citizens then conducted the visitors to dinner. After dinner 
the carriages were brought out, and all the members of the party were taken 
around the town and out into the suburbs, and given an opportunity to look at 
one of the finest sections of the State. About six o'clock they gathered at the 
train, and just before leading a meeting was organized, with Mr. Prentiss, of 
Topeka, in the chair, and Mr. Haviland, of Cliicago, as secretary, when the fol- 
lowing resolution was adopted unanimously : 

Besolved, That the thanks of this party are due, and are hereby tendered, to 
the officers of the Memphis and Little Rock Raih'oad for their Mndness in plac- 
ing a special train at our disposal, and thus enabhng us to see the beautiful 
country through which their road passes ; and also to the people of Forrest City, 
Carlisle, Lonoke, and other towns along the road, for the cordial and hospitable 
' reception they have given us. 

After a few short speeches by citizens and visitors, the party bade good-bye to 
Forrest City, and the train moved out for Little Rock, arriving at about one o'clock 
in the morning. The regular excursion train was here in waiting, and soon after 
the arrival of the Forrest City party, our editorial visitors were all aboard and 



OVER THE FORT SMITH AND MEJIPHIS ROADS. 55 

homeward bound. And thus ended one of the most important enterprises ever 
inaugurated in the State — one that will do more than any other to set the State 
in a true light before the Northern public and before the world. 

The trains over these roads returned to the Union Depot about midnight 
Saturday, and the excursionists being aU re-united, the following general resolu- 
tions were adopted : 

Whereas, Having accepted the Idnd invitation extended to the Press of the 
Northwest to visit the State of Arkansas, and having Adewed its lands, conferred 
with its people, and shared its hospitahty, it becomes us to let our voice be 
heard ; therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the State of Arkansas, in "turning its back upon the past and 
looking forward to the futiu'e, forgetting all that is behind, and pressing forward 
to the high mark that is before," has taken the highest rank in the sisterhood of 
States, and not only shown its loyalty to the old flag, its love for our common 
country, and its desu-e to share one common destiny, but also its true reahza- 
tion of the fact that brotherly kindness will make Arkansas — with her delightful 
climate and untold wealth in its broad acres — one of the garden spots of America, 
to which the weary, hard-working, frost-bitten farmer of the North can turn with 
the hope of future comfort and happiness. 

Resolved, That we cheerfully commend the State of Arkansas to all in search 
of comfortable homes, knowing that her millions of acres are just as inviting, 
that life and property are just as secure, as in any other State of the Union, and 
that a friendly greeting is awaiting all who may visit her towns or settle within 
the confines of her great commonwealth. 

Resolved, That our thanks are dua and are hereby tendered to Hon. Thomas 
Allen, A. W. Soper, Esq., Hon. J. M. Loughborough, T. B. Mills & Co., Col. 
G, P. C. Eumbough, the El Paso Stage Company, the Independent Stage Com- 
pany, and the people of Little Rock, Hot Sprmgs, Arkadelphia, Malvern, Walnut 
Ridge and others, who have without reserve enabled us to see all and judge for 
ourselves as to the advantages of this State ; and we do not hesitate to declare 
our firm conviction that Arkansas is now one of the most inviting of our States 
for agricultural, mining and manufacturing pursuits. 

After the adoption of these, and partaldng of a repast prepared by the 
thoughtful care of Col. Loughborough, the editorial visitors once more boarded 
their special train, and at two o'clock Sunday morning started on their return 
home. Before reaching the State Hne a banner prepared by the citizens of Hope, 
in Hempstead county, was presented by Col. Loughborough ; and at Arcadia, 
where the last dinner of the united party was partaken of, Mr. Geo. F. Marshall 
of Cleveland, Ohio, made the following remarks : 

SPEECH OF GEO. F. MARSHALL. 

Gentlemen of the Excursion : — At this Jate hour of the grand series of festivities 
which we have been enjoying, I deem it no less an honor that you had but now 
discovered, from my ministerial appearance, that perhaps you had better preserve 



56 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the best of the wine for the last of the feast ; there are very many of rare talents 
among this throng of editors who have not been forced to the front, and we need 
another week to bring them out — let every man show his hand. 

You no doubt observed my hesitancy when so unexpectedly called to address 
you, and, to tell you the plain truth, I had been looking for this upon every 
occasion that speaking was expected or hoped for. My hesitancy was the occa- 
sion of a doubt which got hold of my mind whether I should begin, like the 
orator by name of Col. Mark Antonj^, in Roman history, and say : ' ' Editors of 
the Northwest, lend me your ears." I doubted whether it was best for me to 
incur so great an indebtedness while so far from home, without collaterals at hand, 
and concluded it best to push forward in the work you had called me to do with 
the small capital on hand and do the best I could. 

Gentlemen, if there be any among you who will declare that they have seen in 
their lifetime clearer skies, a more genial climate, warmer hearts, grander rivers, 
tetter railways, hotter springs, purer ores, bigger cotton, better wines, prettier 
women, more fruitful fields, grander forests, better prauies, richer fruits, cheaper 
lands, larger corn, huger cucumbers, or a more generous welcome than has been 
exhibited to you during the week just passed, I would be pleased to know the 
countries you have traveled in. From the Tuesday evening, when we left the 
great city of St. Louis, to the present moment, we have had a tour of inspection 
and pleasure that cannot well be equaled on this continent ; the elements and the 
kind and considerate hand of man have combined to make this excursion one to 
be remembered for a lifetime. 

The sun came out of the starry night just as we crossed the line into Ai'kansas, 
and he never has ceased to shine upon us until the present hour, only to go down; 
and rise the brighter every succeeding day*. Some of you gentlemen went down, 
into that fruitful land some years ago with a different purpose than that of to-day, 
but, in spite of all that, have you heard a word of regret, a word of hate, seen an 
unkind act, from any of that noble people, who are this day doing God's work to 
bring the State to a standard with her neighboring sovereignties ? Not one ! 
You have been well abroad in Arkansas, you have traversed a vast extent of her 
territory, and your-eyes have been open well nigh all the day-time ; and, as intel- 
ligent travelers, your note-books have been called into requisition every hour of 
the day, and pencils blunted and sharpened, and sharpened aibd blunted, until 
they are well nigh worn down to the merest stubs. 

The pru'pose of this expedition has not been concealed. Cols. Loughborough 
and Mills tell you plainly what it is designed to accomplish. It was not a siren's 
song to allure you to these fields only to die with the echoes of sweet music in 
your ears, but it was that you might come and see for yourselves — spy out their 
lands, and come and live. It was not alone the intent that they should give you 
palace-cars to ride in and sumptuous warm meals every day (the hke of which 
you never get at home), but they plainly tell you that tl^Qj would lilie to have 
you tell the truth to your people at home. Will this be a hard task ? Is it not ' 
possible for some people to wa'y their usual custom for once in a lifetime? 
What I would beseech of you for this time is that you continue to go forward in 



OVER THE FORT SMITH AND ME3IPHIS ROADS. 57 

tlie straight line of truth, for which we editors are so proverbial in the history of 
the past. Do not devote too much time and talents over small things. I was 
fearful that at Little Eock too much attention was paid to a small cucumber and 
the larger things neglected. Editors had their pocket tape-hnes out measuring 
from blossom to stem, and then they took the circumference and noted all down, 
and I fear the great bundles of wheat, oats, corn, cotton, millet, barley, and the 
great piles of vegetables were measurably neglected. Be fair, gentlemen, and 
show no partiality, I beseech you ; serve all alike. 

And now, you who had the pleasure of that runaway ride down the spur of the 
Ozark Mountains, where you were tipped over, and came off with but one horse 
killed, when you tell these perils to your wife (no one travels far from home but 
he has some wonderful story to tell), and if she should, in an aside whisper, 
remark that she "wished it were you instead of the poor horse," you need not 
heed that; let it go for a fanciful freak of your fau' wife's follies — perhaps she 
don't mean it. 

At Malvern we were addressed by a native son of Arkansas. He gave us a 
hearty and a cordial welcome, and, with his closing words echoing in the forest, 
we steamed off for Hot Springs. You remember he told us, what was evident, 
that the country was new and undeveloped ; but, said he, we have the soil, the 
climate, the minerals, and all else that will make a great State, and if you wiH 
come and see us in a hundred years from to-day there will be a vast change. 
Many of us were convinced that less time than that would show a vast difference. 
For my own part, I do not intend to wait so long. I have made up my mind to 
go there, and take my family, this coming winter, and I know there will be some 
advancement even in that time. 

Some years ago I was accosted by some Europeans upon their native soil with 
the taunt that my native land of America was young, and it had no grand work 
of art to show like Europe. " Well," said I, "that is pretty much so, but you 
have had a little the start of us ; if you wiU just take an inventory of what you 
have now on hand, and then give us the same time to work upon, and come over 
and compare notes, I dare say you mil be disposed to hide your list and go 
home satisfxcd." By the way, my foreign friend, suppose you just come over 
now, and America can show you many a city that will make your eyes leave 
their sockets. He'U be coming along pretty soon. 

In my town was a druggist of a genial, wide-awake turn ; he had one of 
those traveling agents who sometimes come West to try to sell things. The 
commercial man was from Boston. Perhaps 3^ou have heard of Boston ; it is 
somewhere near Cape Cod and is famous for its harbor, whose waters produce 
pure Bohea tea ever since just before the Revolution a whole cargo, fresh from 
China, was thrown in the water, and you may see the whole population with tin 
cans, like the Hot Springs people, going down to the Bay in the afternoon to get 
their daily supply. The commercial man was from Boston, I told jon ; he went 
for my friend, the druggist, to sell him white lead ; he wanted to supply Cleve- 
land and Ohio with white lead ; then he was going to a place out west called St. 
Louis, to supply that new country with all they wanted. 



58 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAYELERS. 

My druggist friend looked at tlie commercial man and inquired the capacity of 
Ms house — how much could they turn out a month ? The commiercial man told him. 

" Now," said my druggist, " you are a fool !" 

The commercial man said, " That is plain talk." 

" Well, well; I'll take it all back ; and as you are going out there, and will 
perhaps stop on your way home, just drop in and see me and tell me what you 
think about it." 

Commercial man went — commercial man returned — he walked, tip-toes, into 
druggist's store ; he spied him in the back counting-room and shouted while 
afar off: " Say, old fellow, you was right about that ; I never had an idea what 
a country it is ! And what a city St. Louis is ! it is perfectly grand ; most as 
big as Boston ! Why, I went into houses that had more white lead stowed 
away than I ever saw in one place in my life." 

It cuts one's eye-teeth to travel, you know, and the more a man goes about 
the earth, the more he ought to know of the world j and railroad men know this 
pretty well, and there are railroad tracks clear into Boston now. 

Gentlemen, my home is on the borders of Lake Erie ; I am a farmer ; I can 
overlook the vast expanse of blue waters, and they look rather refreshing to me 
in the dog-days ; but ah, here is the rub — it is the winter time that those blue 
waters do not look so charming to the eje. If one has a powerful imagination 
he can see mint juleps and cooling iced beverages (where prohibition is not 
rampant), but it is afar off, and you don't want it so cool just at that time. In 
January the lake begins to curdle with the cold, then I do not care to look off 
there so much as I did } by the middle of January ice is so thick that not a sail 
or steamer is seen on the whole expanse ; we shut ourselves within ourselves ; 
our sailors come home to have a good time with their families and friends, and 
we have got accustomed to it, and, like our Boston friends, have not seen where 
we could do better. Is it not a little queer ihat the people in Iceland are con- 
tinually telling their young men to go north ? 1 was speaking of Lake Erie ; 
in December we freeze, in January we freezer, in February we freezest, in 
March we have a gentle thaw, in April it is a little more so, while in May the 
frost has oozed from the ground, and oh, what roads we have ! and then our 
lake begins to be spotted over with white sails and black coal-smoke. In July 
and August we have it hotter than 90^^, which is the compensation we get for t^e 
cold of winter. I have got used to all this ; was brought up to it ; have lived 
nearly forty years in sight of that lake, and I can stand it forty years longer if 
I am spared. 

If a person had the choosing of his home at his birth, it is a question if he 
would take the same climate that his predecessor had chosen. There are all 
sorts of heat and cold to choose from, and we are made of various temperaments 
so as to assimilate to the climate, nevertheless there are other causes which set 
people to locating in countries, when, if they had their choice, they would go 
wide of that mark. 

As long as you understand that I am a clergyman, what more do you want 
to know of me personally ? But, as I have got your ears, I will tell j-ou more. 



OVER THE FORT SBIITH AND MEMPHIS ROADS. 59 

I was born and bred, schooled and practiced a Democrat, all my life, I can't 
help it; have tried to throw it off, but it will not off; have lived all my days in 
an atmosphere overwhelmingly opposed to that political sentiment ; was branded 
a copperhead, which I did not dislike ; have been lied about and persecuted for 
my views ; but notwithstanding, I have always been a bitter enemy of the once 
popular institution of slaverj^^ — I could not help that. And here is the point I 
ivish to arrive at ; has not that been the only stay to the proper progress of this 
vast Southwest? You may answer this when you go home, but I will answer it 
for myself now, and you know the answer is yes ! And emphatically, yes ! 
Take the map of the United States and scan it for j^ourselves, and your own 
knowledge will tell you that the best soil and climate lies below the fortieth 
parallel of latitude ; and do you doubt, gentlemen, that if the make-up of the 
social institutions of the South had been different, that the weight of population 
below that parallel would have been greater to-day than above it ? 

We are now in a new world as it were. It is new to us and the people with 
-whom we have visited ; it is peculiarly new. They have been oppressed as never 
men were before ; it is idle to recite the record, but none of jon can go home 
and point to a word or act that would imply that those good people are not in 
earnest in assuming the condition of things to be well established, and that we 
have all got the stern fact to stare us in the face, that their world has got be 
begun anew. 

They offer to the world vast fields of land, new and old, not especially that 
"they want to get rid of the land ; what they need most is the men and imple- 
ments of the North and West to go into the cotton-fields and make them laugh 
in the noon-day sun. They need no speculator to come and take their lands to 
lie idle, that some hard-working man may till the adjoining lands that will 
ultimate in the enhancement of their values. They need men and implements, 
and all that which is necessary to bring this rare soil to its full bearing. 

I have a neighbor who has a large tract of land just in view of Cleveland. 
He will sell only to those who wish to occup}^ it. I saw a customer approach 
him for a portion which he wished to buy. When asked what he wished to do 
with it, he replied, •" Hold it for a rise." The reply was, that he was able to do 
that himself ; what he desired was actual settlers. 

Eow I have no fears that you editors will come back here to buy on specula- 
tion, for editors are a people who have little scrip in their purses, and naturally 
expect to be deadheaded clear through ; but you will find some day, if not in 
your lifetime, a barrier where the free list is absolutely suspended. 

Gentlemen, have you ever, in your intercourse with the world at large, met a 
more genial, gentlemanly and companionable man than Col. Loughborough ? Do 
you say no? I believe you ; if you never told the truth before, I think you told 
it this time. The Company did well when they put him at the head of their 
wild lands. I think you could not disturb the equanimity of that man's temper 
if you provoked him to the remotest degree ; and if I have said a word about 
Tiim before, I know you will pardon this repetition, for the expedition would have 
liad no commanding officer but for him ; and but for his presence in the unfortu- 



60 THE NEW AKKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

nate coach that was thrown down the mountain side, I make no doubt but many 
of 5^ou would be playing poker with the rich man we read of in Luke, chap. xvi. 
The incense of that man's good deeds has spread wider and higher than his own 
State of Arkansas, and you know that this excursion has been doubly interesting 
with his presence, and would have been dull and uninteresting in his absence. 
Locg live the Colonel ! 

Have I not said enough ? Had any of you doubts about the general make-up of 
the people in Arkansas — I mean you Republicans who were honest in your 
political outcrop ? Excuse me, but I have seen Republicans who were not 
honest. There are none of that sort here ; but did you not have an idea that a 
native of Arkansas was a fierce devil of a chap with an eye that would look you 
out of countenance, while hidden and exposed about his person a whole armory 
of death-dealing implements ? I must'confess for myself that the schooling I 
have had led me to think that they all carried ugly knives and revolvers. Have 
you heard of anything of the sort while here? Yes, a little boy at Walnut 
Ridge, where we had our first meal, was carelessly playing with a couple of bass 
wood toothpicks, made in a town a few miles east of my home (Paineville) , and 
that is the nearest, I dare say, that any of you have come to beholding those 
proverbially deadly weapons among the natives. We had best, all of us, button 
up our fears and make up our minds that we have labored under a sad mistake. 

Somewhere in Roman history I have read that a race of people came to a sec- 
tion in Italy where the wine was especially good, and they settled down there at 
once on that account, simply because they had such good wine ; that may be a 
good enough reason for a people like theirs to take up lands and make a home. 
The same sort of thing was seen at the Arlington in Hot Springs. A tribe 
of men were incontinently led to the rooms of Dr. Lawrence, where Scupper- 
nong after Scuppernong was broken and drank, and the whole tribe settled 
right there, took up chairs, and concluded to spend a good share of their remain- 
ing days with the Doctor. My room-mate, McClure, who was assigned with me 
to room 78 at the Grand Central, who should have been at home from the grand 
hop at least at two a. m., never put in an appearance at all. He was foliowing 
the Roman custom, I fear, and settled down where the wine was good. 

Gentlemen — I should say editors— believe me if you will, but I have mingled 
with that Italian people and have drank the wines that had such magnetic power 
as to draw a whole colony to her lands ; have tasted the wines from Venice to 
Naples, and from Genoa to the Baden sea — there was nothing in them, to my 
perception, that would make a set of men pitch their tents and make a life-work 
of it. IJow they could enthuse over such cheerless stuff as that, one cannot 
comprehend ; but that was more than two thousand years ago. Perhaps the 
climate and soil have changed, and the spirit of the sun and the soil, perhaps, has 
been transferred to the fields ofArkansas. 

You all have heard it from a source that cannot be controverted, that some 
Frenchmen, at an early day, cultivated a native grape to a marked success and 
afterwards carried slips to their native land, and to-day that grape is the delight 
of all France in the making of her best wine. Stranger things than all this have 



OVER THE FORT SMITH AND MEMPHIS ROADS. 61 

happened. Our neighbors of Mexico produced the potato, which has become 
known only as the Irish product, and Mexico is only known in history as the 
father of the tuber. France will not give Arkansas her due credit ; and if she 
doeS; it will be so worked into her half-accented words that none but Frenchmen 
will comprehend the fact in the title. Another glass if you please, Doctor. 

You have traversed from north to south, from east to west, over that new 
State, and are pretty well able to tell what has passed before your eyes. You 
have seen a good share of the State and had a good sight of the following coun- 
ties : Cla^^ton, Greene, Randolph, Lawrence, Jackson, White, Lonoke, Pulaski, 
Saline, Hot Springs, Clark, Prairie, Monroe, St. Francis, Faulkner, Conway, 
Pope, Johnson, and perhaps some have seen Franklin, Crawford and Sebastian — 
quite enoughj one would suppose, to form some idea of the State at large. Like 
all other States in our Union, the railways seek to traverse the level lands ; and 
the outlook from a car window is never to be taken for a sample of the lands in 
the immediate neighborhood. You saw the green surface of the pools along this 
track as we first struck the State. You looked with g, critical eye and did not 
like that, nor did I ; but the same thing is apparent in much older countries, and 
is only overcome by continued drainage and cultivation. 

I doubt if you editors ever traveled over a road more evenly balanced or 
better managed than the Iron Mountain and Southern Railway ; it is equal to 
the reliable " Bee Line " road, and forms a direct thoroughfare with that line 
from the great lakes and the New England States to the Gulf of Mexico. For 
safety, speed, and ease in transit, these lines are a marvel of enterprise, and 
not surpassed in the Union for the completeness of their various appointments. 
Perhaps I have said that Mr. Soper, the Superintendent of this road, told me 
that he was somewhat chary about sending this excursion train wild upon the 
line when so many trains were in jeopardy. Our train was run only by orders 
at every telegraph station, and that occasioned some little delay so that we 
should be qnite out of each other's way ; and when our excursion party lands 
safe in St. Louis, which I have but little doubt it will in a few hours, Mr. Soper 
will have a load off his mind, and the cars will be relieved of a mass of dead- 
head weight that if they could speak out audibly, they would shout, in the 
language of the apostle, " Good riddance !" 

You will again indulge me in a matter purely personal to myself. 'By the 
chance of circumstances I have been thrown among a company of entire stran- 
gers ; not one of them had I ever beheld, unless it be Col. Loughborough, 
whom I had only met the morning of the departure for the excursion. Either 
from the fact that I represented the Cleveland Sunday Morning Voice — a 
sprightly, independent paper — or that some one had fancied a sage and sacerdo- 
tal look in the corner of my eye, I got to be regarded as a clergyman. It 
took a day for me to find this out. Boxes were brought in our car and opened, 
and there were bottles in them, and something was in the bottles ; I could hear 
whispers and see passages at arms' length, and things went and came, and my 
nose was a suspension bridge across the Mississippi. Bottle after bottle was 
emptied and the incense went all about ; I could smell it well enough, but why ! 



62 THE NEW ARKANSAS TBAVELERS. 

and wherefore ! what have I done ? It was myself that investigated and found 
that they had put Bev. to my name in the list, and every one was afraid of me. 
How quick I dispelled that gloom and made things lively thereafter ! Why I 
allude to this subject is that you may take a lesson and be careful that so grave 
an error may not occur in the future. Up with us., the clergy get the best and 
are often athirst, but I think if our ministers emigrate into Arkansas with good 
habits and frank manners they may be regarded as other human beings and 
treated accordingly. Let brotherly love abound and let the bottles go around. 
It's a serious matter to be slighted in one's own country. 

There was a local itinerant preacher that formerly came to my neighborhood 
to preach ; he was not of my sect. It was his habit, like the earlier apostles, 
to work or fish week-days and preach now and then on Sunday. He got a good 
dinner when he came to the country, and perhaps that is how he came to hear the 
call to preach. He told me that he met one of his old hearers one day and asked 
him how he liked his sermons. 

"Well," said he, "I liked them pretty well when you was preaching, but then. 
I liked it a darned sight better when you got through." 

For your careful attention, gentlemen, I can do no less than thank you. 

Halving thus given a short sketch of the trip through Arkansas, we shall now 
give the comments of the various editors, classifying them by States. 



CHAPTER VI.-ILLINOIS. 



From THE "LAND OWNER," CHICAGO. 



GEO. F. CODD, Correspondent. 




^HEN, the other day, a grand excursion was suggested over the State 
of Arkansas, by the Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain and Southern Railroad, and several real estate agents of 
Little Eock,* the project was eagerly entered into by the citizens of the State, 
and invited guests responded pretty generally that they would join the party. 
About the same time the cable told us that Victor Emmanuel, of Italy, was 
sending delegates out on the Roman Campagna, to see what could be done 
towards its reclamation and improvement, and its restoration to what it was when 
Csesar harvested his enormous crops of cereals from the rich soil of the now 
miasmatic swamp. The two incidents seemed somewhat aldn ; j^et one the anti- 
pode of the other. What need of spending millions to fructify the wasted Cam- 
pagna when the broad fields of Arkansas stretch toward the horizon, redolent 
with hidden treasures, inexhaustible soil, peace, plenty and prosperity? The star 
of empu-e has left those old fields. The Roman of to-day can bring his bread- 
stuffs from America cheaper than he can reclaim the old waste places of Europe. 
The Itahan mendicant must leave the shadow of the great aqueducts and become 
an independent citizen of the New World. The kings may not lilie it, but who 
cares half as much for the Idngs as for a free and independent life? These 
thoughts came trooping across the mind as we took our seats in the Pullnian car 
at St. Louis, en route for Arkansas. Naturally enough, we thought of the hotel 
in the Corso, and the day we were dragged out behind a pair of mules of the 
true Roman t^qDe to see the wasted fields about the Eternal City. But we are 
going now to a mightier State than Europe possesses to-day, mightier in its 



*The invitation to the Land Owner, as well as to all the other papers invited, was signed by Col. J. M. 
Loughboi-Qugh, Land Commissioner of the St. L., I. M. & S. R. R., and by Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., 
real estate agents, of Little Rock. The resolutions adopted by the guests, just before starting home, 
thanked Col. Loughborough and Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co. for the courtesies extended, so that the use of 
the words by Dr. George F. Codd, " several real estate agents," could hardly have been an inadvertence. 



64 • THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

tremendous possibilities, its enterprising inhabitants, and in its inexhaustible 
resources, capable of feeding and enriching the entire population of that Old 
Italy of which it is the counterpart in soil and chmate. 

But comparisons to the dogs ; we are off from St. Louis, in company with two 
hundred and fifty newspaper publishers — a grand American army of occupation, 
whose pens are turned into plowshares for the nonce, to plow Ai'kansas to the 
hard-pan and see what there is in her. Loughborough is happy ; Mills smiles the 
smile of a just man made perfect ; the engine breathes ardently the spirit of power 
born of Arkansas coal in her furnace, and the ever wide-awake man of the Land 
Owner sees everything and puts it down like a recording angel. It is the quarter- 
sections of Ai'kansas he is after. He knows that land is the basis of all security, 
and of this excursion. He knows that his journal was the pioneer in the land 
world. He knows it rebuilt Chicago, and he wants to give Arkansas a lift. 
Away, then, with fine sentences by way of preface ! 

THE START, 

We left St. Louis at nine p.m. , September 28, on a special train of Pullman cars, 
over the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Eailroad, cordially placed at our 
disposal by the directors of that Company, and kept the course of the Mississippi 
river for upwards of 30 miles, when we entered the forest, and as night was 
far advanced, the party retired to their berths. At daybreak next morning the 
bright rays of the sun cleared away the dewy vapors of the night, but we found 
little of interest on our route over the Iron Mountain road till we reached 

NEWPORT, 

which is the capital of Jackson county, with a population of 600. It is located 
on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Raikoad and the White river, and, 
Hke all its sister settlements in tliis new and opening- up country, is just develop- 
ing itself. It is within 77 miles of Little Rock, is becoming quite a promising 
location ; several clearings of the lands . have been made in its vicinity and now 
produce fine cotton and corn crops, promising a plenteous future for the settler. 
For a considerable distance along the line of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and 
Southern Railroad, swamps abound in the low lands, but this is not to be won- 
dered at, as the lodgments of water and the tributaries from springs naturally 
lead to this state of things in the low forest brush ; but the industry of man is 
fast marching on, and ere long rich fertile crops must take the place of stagnant 
swamps. It may be inferred from these facts that provender and hay for stock 
is scarce, but in lieu of hay they feed on the rich, sweet, leafy crop of "mast," 
or leaf of"the sweet cane, which grows iil rich plenty in these regions. It is a 
good substitute for hay, and when touched by the frost is more palatable to stock. 

JUDSONIA 

was next reached, and at the station quite an interesting item met our eyes as we 
dashed along. A handsome flag of welcome was hoisted by the Judson Univer- 
sity, bearing these words, ' ' The pen is mightier than the sword. Welcome to 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 65 

the editors." Judsoniais situated on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern 
Eaikoad, in White county. It is 292 miles from St. Louis, and 53 miles north- 
east of Little Eoek, lying iii one of the most lovely and healthy portions of the 
State. Here the celebrated Judson University is located, which received its 
charter March 27, 1871. It is an institution of which the State may well he 
proud. Its course of instruction comprises every branch of a classical and com- 
mercial course, under the most efficient staff of professors and teachers. After 
passing this point we found no other of note till we reached 
/ 

LITTLE ROCK. 

This city lies nearly in the centre of the State, on the south side of the Arkan- 
sas river, in Pulaski county, and is the capital. It was laid out in 1820, and 
became incorporated 1835. It has made great advances in trade and commerce 
since the late war, but more recently from the facilities opened up by the new 
lines of railroads, together with her navigable river trade, making this city a 
great and important business centre. 

Its population has increased marvelously every year. In 1860 it numbered 
3,800, while this year it claims fully 20,000 inhabitants. In her buildings Little 
Rock has made great additions within the last few years, several line stores and 
private residences ha-sdng been erected. The railroads centering here are the 
Memphis & Little Rock, Cairo & Fulton and Little Rock & Fort Smith. Her 

Personal property is P, 489, 025 34 

Real property . 5,295,925 00 

Total ratable $6,784,950 34 

Manufacture of ^ash, doors and blinds is extensively carried on by Cook, Gibb 
& Co., established in 1867 by Cady & Gibb, to which firm the present one suc- 
ceeded. They manufacture every class of lumber for building, etc. ; their miUs 
were the first established west of the Mississippi and south of St. Louis. They 
afford employment to about 100 hands, and the character and quality of the work 
they turn out will bear comparison with any similar establishment in the Southern 
States. A beautiful specimen of cabinet work has just been made by the firm 
for the Centennial, from the variegated fancy woods of the forest, which must 
win a prominent position in the great Exposition. 

The educational institutions of Little Rock comprise the free schools, which 
are well organized and have a daily attendance of about 2,000 children. There 
are two colleges and about six private schools. Her churches comprise the vari- 
ous religious denominations. The press is well represented by the Gazette, a 
daily morning (Democratic) journal, and the Star, a daily evening paper. The 
Spirit of Arkansas (monthly), one of the best farming and land papers in the 
South, is published by T. B. Mills & Co., with^ a circulation of 20,000 copies. 
Her real estate business is represented by a large number of operators doing a 
fan- trade in their line. 

The character of the soil oi the surrounding lands is well suited for grain and 
fruit culture. Several orchards show thrifty growth. Vast portions of it are fit 
5 



6Q THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

for any farming products. Timber grows in great varieties, consisting of pine^ 
white oak, hickory, black walnut, etc. The chief products are cotton, which, 
on allmial soil, yields one bale, corn from 50 to 75 bushels per acre. Minerals 
are in great variety in the county and are equal if not superior to any other 
found in the State. Splendid deposits of porcelain clay and granite are also 
found, of fine qualit}'' for building, with limestone and fii-e-clay. 

The' excursion train arrived here at about 9 o'clock on Wednesday morning, 
and when the special train of Pullman cars neared the depot, the brass band of 
Little Rock played a glad and joj^ful welcome. Here all was in readiness to greet 
and receive us as if it were with open arms, the citizens having assembled at the 
depot. Col. Loughborough and Mills soon made the most admirable arrange- 
ments, and allotted the guests in parties of from six to ten to each of the promi- 
nent citizens for entertainment. This being completed, we entered the carriages 
in waiting, and various routes of procession round the city were taken to see it 
from all points. Each host took his party to his house, where splendid banquets 
were served, and after this we visited the various public buildings and the agri- 
cultural specimens and products collected in the museum. Here we found some 
of the finest samples of corn and grain, cotton and fruits in endless A^arieties, 
minerals and vegetables, some of the most beautiful veined fancy woods ever 
witnessed, all of the State's production. In the evening a grand banquet, on a 
truly royal scale, was given, the tables being laid out in the form of a Maltese 
cross, and literally groaning under the splendid luxuries and delicacies, with the 
choicest wines and fruits that wealth and taste could procure. At 9 p. m. the 
party were seated, and the Hon. J. M. Loughborough was called to the chair. 
After a short address to the guests, they partook of the \aands. The toasts 
given and responses thereto were hearty and intelligent, which space compels us 
to omit. Sufiice it to say that the party arose at a late hour, all in the best of 
spirits. 

PAL ARM. 

This is a station on the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, and distant about 
16^ miles from Little Rock. It is a splendid corn-producing district, and we 
witnessed some of the staUvS fully from 12 to 14 feet high, with as fine a crop as 
could be found anywhere in the State. We measured some of the ears and 
found them fully nine inches long, with six inches of circumference, and the lands 
producing these crops have never yet been manured, the secreted and accumu- 
lated vegetable matter which has formed for ages ha\ing made the most fertile 
soil. Here, too, we found the most splendid cotton crops ever produced, the 
jaeld of^ which was fully one and a half bales to the acre, or, to say from 600 to 
700 pounds, the marketable value of which is from 12 to 15 cents per pound, 
which would make the yield equal to $100 per acre. One producer has a farm of 
about 600 acres, 400 of which ar^ under cotton, the balance being mostly corn 
and cereals. 

The coal mines near here are of the best quality, and only want capital and 
labor to jaeld a fortune. There are silver and gold mines, too, in this location, 
but they lack the same requisites to work them. 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 67 



CONWAY. 

This is a rapidly improving and fast advancing little town, about two years old^ 
It is situated on the L. R. & F. S. R. R., and is within 30 miles of Little Rock. 
It is in the midst of a fine forest, with little patches of prairie lands cleared about 
it. It has some fine fire-clay for the manufacture of bricks, and a large store 
has just been built of them which is a credit to the enterprising sphit of her 
people. The acti\dty and life shown here bespeaks future prosperity for the 
town. 

MORRILTON. 

This is a station on the L. R. & F. S. R. R., and situated 50 miles from Little 
Rock. It is among the richest cotton, corn, and fruit producing sections of the 
State. Some of the most splendid specimens ever produced of fruits, corn, cot- 
ton, grapes, potatoes and vegetables were laid out on tables at the station for 
our inspection. We found some apples here so large and rich that one would be 
a good dessert for three persons, many of them weighing one and a half pounds. 
A specimen of the Tonqua cucumber was shown us weighing 64 pounds, this being 
the largest as yet ever produced on record in this State. The sample of cotton 
shown is from, lands producing one and a half bales to the acre. A sample of 
a field of beans, which has jdelded fully 200 bushels per acre, was shown, also 
samples of the finest corn 'crop, measuring 12 to 14 feet high, the entire plat- 
form of the depot being filled with the evidences of this rich producing point. 
The leading citizens and many of the Lewisburg inhabitants, distant about five 
miles from this station, assembled in large numbers to greet us with a cordial 
welcome. A committee of gentlemen was formed for our reception, the address 
being delivered by Dr. Stout, the editor and proprietor of the Weekly State, a 
very ably conducted journal of Lewisburg, who gave a fair and accurate descrip- 
tion of this portion of the State of Arkansas, which was, in fact, a proof of pre- 
vious reports and facts corroborated by our own personal inspection. In the 
eloquent address Dr. Stout dehvered, he said it was a matter of regret to the 
citizens that we did not arrive at an earlier hour, that they might have given us 
a more suitable and hospitable reception, and evinced their marked sense and high 
appreciation of our visit. A flag, bearing the harp of Erin and the shield of the 
old kings of that land, with the words " Caed Mille a Failte," was raised by the 
Irish portion of the citizens, whick spoke volumes for the sincerity of our wel- 
come. . . . 

RUSSELLVILLE. 

This is the next station on the Little Rock and Fort Smith Raih-oad ; it is 75 
nules from Little Rock. It numbers a population of about 1,500. Corn grows 
in great abundance in its surroundings. The celebrated coal mines of Ouita are 
situated within two and a half miles of the depot, with a track laid to their shaft, 
and this is conceded to be the best coal for household and steam purposes. They 
give employment to a large number of hands in worldng them. The company 
was organized on the 1st of January, 1874, and has a board of dkectors and a 



68 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

general office iu the city of Little Rock, and from the situation of tliis very 
remarkable coal-bed, its superior facihties for transportation to all points in the 
State, it is the most available coal west of the Mississippi river and south of Mis- 
souri and Kansas, having railway connection with Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, 
Mo., Jefferson and Dallas, Texas, and Shreveport, La., and two other railroads 
nearly finished, which gives a much shorter route to the Mississippi at Helena 
and Chicot, where, in the future, the fleet plowing the great father of waters may 
get a fuel free from smoke and the unpleasant odor that at present makes a trip 
by river so very disagreeable. This coal ofi'ers special advantages for aU manu- 
facturing purposes, and saves a vast amount of capital from its great steam 
generating qualities, its cleanhness and freedom from chnkers. No better fuel 
could be used for all household purposes. 

The coal-bed extends over 500 acres of land in Pope county, through which 
the Little Rock and Fort Smith Raih'oad runs, also the Ilhnois bayou, a naviga- 
ble stream, which flows into the Ai'kansas river, giving a choice of water or rail- 
road transportation to the company — great advantages — enabhng them to offer 
their coal at a less figure than other companies where the cost of transportation 
adds materially to it. The company are now enabled to supply any demand, 
the mines being sufficiently extended and in full working order ; and the Ouita 
Coal Company is bound to exercise an influence over the great interests of 
Arkansas, both financially and commercially, and become an established power 
in the land. Mr. Thos. Lafferty is managing director, and his thorough business 
experience and well-known efficiency in all executive matters renders him one 
of the most suitable and competent men who could be selected for the high com- 
mercial post he fills, not only in this company, but as a leading, and prominent 
merchant and citizen of Little Rock, and an alderman in her council. We are 
safe in sajdng that these mines, in a very short time, will be known throughout 
the entire North and Southwest, and the coal must be used by the great railroad 
companies in these sections of the State. 

CLAKKSVILLE, 

This is a thriving and stu-ring httle city, situated on the Little Rock and Fort 
Smith Raih'oad, in Johnson county, within 101 miles of the city of Little Rock, 
and 19 miles of Altus, the termini of that line. It enjoys a population of about 
1,500 inhabitants, and is the county seat of Johnson county. Its trade em- 
braces cotton-gins and grist mills, the busy hum of their machinery evincing an 
active demand. It is in a grea^ graiii and corn-producing district, with splendid 
cotton crops. We saw some superior samples of wheat for grinding into flour at 
the mills, and the flour produced might compare with the best qualities of St. 
Louis brands. No better cotton crop in the State than the samples seen under 
process of ginning here. There has lately been discovered one of the richest 
coal-beds in the State, situate within one and a half miles of the raikoad depot 
and the river, and within thu"ty-seven feet of the surface of the earth. It is 
known as "Horsehead, or Curry's Mines." The quality of the coal has been 
tested by most experienced analysts, and it is now wholly used b}^ the Memphis 



/ ILLINOIS CORRESPOISTDENCE. 69 

and Little Rock Railroad, and pronounced to be the best coal for beating and 
the generation of steam, being free from clinkers or cinders, and very little ash 
or smoke. It is about being tested by the St. Louis, Iron- Mountain and South- 
ern Railroad, with a view to its being used by that line also. As a household 
coal it is equal to any in use, and is free from all unpleasant odors. The vein is 
four feet three deep, and runs from eight to ninety-three feet, and must ere long ^ 
prove a great mine of wealth to its owner. Col. Curry is about organizing an 
incorporated company to open extensive operations for its general use. Every 
Idnd courtesy was shown us here, and a glad welcome expressed at our visit. 
We were obliged to leave soon, as the evening was advancing, and entering the 
train, we continued our route to Altus, at which point we bid fareweU to the 
train and that branch of the excursionists who joined us to the end of this line of 
rail, they returning and we going on by stage through fifty miles of forest road 
to Fort Smith and Van Buren, on the route to which we passed several impor- 
tant and productive settlements, with some of the best farms in the northwest 
part of the State. 

ALTUS. 

This is the name of the present station which is the termini of the Little Rock 
and Fort Smith Railroad, and is situated 120 miles from Little Rock. It is only 
about six months established, and yet it has a population of about 250 inhabi- 
tants, the oldest settlers being Mark Hogan, who has been a resident here for 60 
years, and Dr. S. H. Chem, for 40 years. Wheat, corn and fine fruits are pro-" 
duced here, but its chief product is cotton. From this point to all stations 
between here and Fort Smith the mails and passengers are transported thither by 
stage. Col. Curry, the mail contractor and stage proprietor, kindly placing his 
splendid stage at our service, we set out on our long night's journey on Saturday 
night and arrived early on Sunday morning at Yan Buren, where we had a good 
breakfast, and entering our stage with our good host, the Colonel, we crossed the 
Arkansas river in a ferry and then drove on to Fort Smith, where we got a 
rest after our long ride. We would here express our deepest gratitude to Col. 
Curry for his unbounded frieiidship and courtesy, and upon the genial companion- 
ship met in him, we managed to pass the time so swiftly and intellectually we 
scarcely felt it on our long jaunt. 

FORT SMITH. 

This city was laid out in the year 1834, and became incorporated in 1842. 
Major Bradford, of the United States armj^, first established the Fort. It has a 
population of about 5,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Arkansas river, 
one hundred and seventy miles from Little Rock, and lies five miles from Van 
Buren on the opposite bank of the river, the river being ferried for all transporta- 
tion. It is about fifty-five miles from Altus, the termini of the Little Rock and 
Fort Smith Raih'oad, and has communication by stage with that station. It is 
the county seat of Sebastian, which lies west of the State, being bordered by the 
Indian Nation on the west and the Arkansas river on' the north. It is at the 
head of steamboat navigation and adjoins the Government Reserve, which is 



70 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVaLERS. 

between it and the Nation. The character of the land is rolling prahie, with the 
most fertile soil, and there is no better land for fruit or for< farming purposes in 
any county in the northwest portion of the State. It is well adapted for stock- 
raising, as the grasses are rich and grow luxuriantly. The chief products are 
cotton, the average yield being about one bale per acre, corn from forty to seventy 
^bushels, with good crops of wheat and oats. The Irish and sweet potatoes pro- 
duce fine crops. The climate is gentle and mild, and every description of vege- 
table grows in great abundance and perfection. Game and fish are abundant. 
Deer, bear, turkeys, geese, etc., etc.. are easily procured. Coal is one of her 
greatest mineral products, and lies in plenteous supply close to the surface. It 
is brought into town by the farmers and traded to the citizens for merchandise. 
When the present projected railroad is completed the trade in this article will 
become enormous, as for aU household and manufacturing purposes it has no 
superior. We had an opportunity of personally testing this on our inspection of 
its heating qualities. It is free from smoke and unpleasant odor, and produces 
no chnker and very little ash. Timber is in bounteous supply in the splendid 
forests, consisting of oak, ash, hickory, black walnut, etc. Lead is found in 
large strata, but the lack of capital prevents the opening up of mines. The ore 
would -yield fully 75 per cent. About six miles from the city splendid iron ore 
is found, jaelding 45 per cent. , but no capitalist has yet operated or opened it 
up. We saw fine specimens of minerals and products of every descriptipn at the 
office of the Independent, which proved fuUy our personal inspection elsewhere. 
The scenery for miles around is truly lovely, and the outskirts of the city are 
studded with charming villas with richly cultivated gardens. The press is well 
represented here by the Independent, a good weekly issue, John Wheeler & Co., 
editors and proprietors ; the Fort Smith Herald, estabhshed in 1847 (James H. 
Sparks), an old journal of influence and note; and the Neio Era, commenced 
in 1863, a Eepubhcan journal, Y. Dell, editor. The city is well pro^aded in her 
educational establishments, while her reUgious denominations have their churches. 
It is a matter of deep surprise to us that the possessors of capital do not avail 
themselves of the immense resources of this portion^ of the State for the facilities 
offered for all manufactures. Her splendid timber, her coals, her ore (iron and 
lead), her grand river for transportation, and the lines of rail projected to it, 
offer inducements gigantic in their character for a return of wealth. 

On our arrival at this city we were received by the citizens and treated in the 
warmest and most cordial manner. The shoi'tness of our stay precluded any 
pubhc demonstration. The want of railroad and telegraphic communication pre- 
vented the citizens from a timely notice of our arrival, hence our grateful thanks 
are the deeper for their spontaneous friendship. An elegant dinner party was 
projected for us the day of our departure at the residence of Dr. Bailey, and the 
elite of Fort Smith were present. It was one of the most agreeable and friendly 
receptions we met on our entire trip. Gen. Bonne-vdUe and wife. Col. Fishback, 
Dr. Maine and wife, etc., made up the parting banquet. The citizens of Van 
Buren had carriages in readiness to convey us to their city in order to be availed 
of the few short hours we had before we bid them farewell. We would here pay 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 71 

a tribute to the peace, law and order which prevail throughout every section of 
our route, and even on the very "borders of the Indian country the laws are 
observed and submitted to, and the greater number of criminals confined in the 
jails are there for crimes committed in the Indian Territory against the State 
laws. A large trade is carried on by the merchants of the city with the Indian 
Nation under license of the Government, the better educated of the red men 
being in the most friendly intercourse, and desirous of a more civilized form of 
constitution and union with our own great institutions and laws. 

LEWISBURG 

is a neat and fast improving and thiiving town, situated about 50 miles from 
Little Rock, on the Arkansas river, and distant from Morrilton, on the Little 
Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, about four miles. It became an incorporated 
town in 1869. D. H. Thomas is Mayor. " It is a considerable shipping point to 
the markets north, west and south, the transactions in cotton alone being over 
5,000 bales this season. It may be said the entke surroundings fauiy compare 
with the best producing lands of Arkansas for its productions in wheat, oats and 
corn, cotton and fruits, in the richest 'and most luxuriant qualities, many of the 
samples of apples being fully from one and a half to one and three-quarter pounds. 
Potatoes are of superior description, and yield fully 300 bushels to the acre of 
Irish, while the sweet potato cannot be excelled for health and flavor. An able 
newspaper is printed here from the press of William Stout, the editor and pub- 
lisher. It is a weekly sheet, and a credit to the intelligent, enterprising spirit 
of its proprietor and the citizens of Lewisburg. There are about one dozen good 
mercantile houses largely engaged in trade, both in the export of its products 
and the importation of goods. 

DARBANELLB. 

This thriving and happy little town is located on the south bank of the Arkansas 
river, 75 miles west of Little Rock, in Yell county, and has a population 
of about 2,500 inhabitants. Russelville is the railroad depot, and is within 
four mUes of the town, thereby giving the great advantage of transportation, 
not only by raU, but by river, Dardanelle being a very important sliipping point 
to St. Louis, New Orleans and Memphis. The chief products and trade of this 
point are cotton and corn, with wheat, ^fhich was grown largely this season, 
150,000 bushels in Yell county alone having been produced of the latter for the 
supply of markets trading with this point, which is the largest trading point in 
the State above Little Rock. Dardanelle was incorporated before the last war, 
and consequently enjoys an advanced celebrity in its fiscal arrangements over 
more recently fixed cities. It has an able paper, the Independent^ a weekly issue 
of intelligence, M. M. McGutre being its efficient editor and proprietor. H. A. 
Howell is Mayor of the city, and M. Jessup Postmaster. It has about twenty 
large and extensive business houses engaged in wholesale trade and exporting, 
with about fifteen smaller merchants in retail business. 



72 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



LONOKE. 



This town is situated on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, is about 
25 miles distant from Little Rock, and is the county seat. It is in the center 
of the county, and is fast building up. A railroad is in contemplation to con- 
nect the town with Pine Bluff, which will join the Cairo and Fulton road near 
Ward's Station, which, when completed, will open up new enterprise for this 
point. Its press is represented by the Democrat. A delegation of the citizens 
met us at the depot, and escorted us through the town. The Memphis & 
Little Rock Raih-oad Company very kindly offered us a train for a ride over 
their road, to run down to Forrest City, for a jaunt through the prairie section 
of the State. 

CARLISLE. 

This is a station in Prairie county, on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. 
It is not yet of sufficient importance to call for any lengthened description. It 
is in the center of good productive lands, and will ere long have its place on- 
the records of the State as a prosperous point. Our stay was sufficient to 
enable us to examine some splendid specimens of fruft and grain which were 
collected by the citizens for our inspection. One pear shown us weighed two' 
pounds and four ounces. Apples are of superior quahty. A new cotton gin 
and hay presses are in operation. We left here for the next point, 

BRINKLET. 

This is a great cotton and corn producing point, with hay and wheat crops in 
rich abundance, which are largely shipped to Memphis and New Orleans. The 
town is built on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, and was laid out about 
four years ago, and became incorporated within the last three years,' M. Kelly 
being Mayor, and H. P. Medlikin Postmaster. It has a population of about 
400 inhabitants. 

PRAIRIE CENTRE. 

This is a station on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, 33 miles from 
Little Rock and 101 miles from Memphis, and within 14 miles of White river ; 
shipping place at Duvall's Bluff. Hay is largely produced here, and fully 500 
tons at present are exported to Memphis, Little Rock and Lower Mississippi 
river, at $10 per ton from point shipped. M. M. Yeakle has erected a large hay 
press her^, and controls the entire business in his line. He is now erecting a 
Dedrick Perpetual Press, which will turn out from 1,000 to 2,000 tons of hay 
for market in a season. Facilities are now opened for shipment by rail to Mem- 
'phis and Charleston, affording a large market with the Gulf States. The fruit 
and nursery business is a new feature, large orchards being cultivated in the 
district. Game of all kinds, with prairie chickens and deer, are abundant in 
their seasons. The chief products of the surrounding lands are cotton, grain, 
fruit and hay. 



•illinois correspondence. 73 

duvall's bluff. 

This town is situated in Prairie county, on the Memphis & Little Rock Rail- 
road, distant from Little Rock 50 miles. It is not yet of such agricultural 
importance as to warrant us in dwelling on It. We leave it for this purpose to 
take its place in the onward march of progress of the State. 

FORREST CITY 

is a rapidly-rising, prosperous city, with a population of 1,500 inhabitants. It 
was laid out in 1868, and was incorporated in 1871. W. S. Pope is Mayor, and 
H. L. Wright Postmaster. Madison is the county seat of St. Francis county, 
and has only 250 population. The city was originally founded by Col. W. H. 
Howes, of the firm of Dunn & Howes, lawyers. 

Forrest City is built on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, and lies 95 miles 
distant from Little Rock. It is fairly represented by the Forrest City Times, a 
weekly issue, T. F. Oury, proprietor. The chief products are cotton, corn and 
grain, green crops and fruits, large shipments being made from here to Memphis, 
Little Rock and St. Louis. Its manufactures consist of flouring miUs (E. R. 
Knight), with the grist mills of W. M. Aldridge. 

Land in good districts in the country commands from $5 to $10 per acre in 
uncleared lots, and from $12 to $50 per acre in improved quarters. T. C. Davis 
is the Land Commissioner for the lands of the Memphis & Little Rock Raih-oad 
Company here. A large delegation of the citizens met us on our arrival, and 
escorted us to a public hall, where a formal reception took place, the Mayor 
making a short address. A committee of citizens then conducted us to dinner, 
after which we had a drive through the city and outlets, and after inspecting 
some of the finest section of the State, we again met at the depot at six o'clock. 

MALVERN. 

This is the present connecting railroad point to the great "Hot Springs," the 
Baden-Baden of America. The line, at present in rapid course of completion, is 
expected to be opened by the 1st of January, 1876. Twelve miles are now laid, 
and when opened, the unpleasant stage route of 24 miles will be avoided, and 
thus prove of infinite advantage to the vast number of persons who resort to 
these healing waters. The town of Malvern is situated on the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain & Southern Raih'oad, and is distant from Little Rock 42 miles, and 24 
from Hot Springs. It was laid out in 1873, and now in so short a time has quite 
rapidly sprung up into a thriving little city, with a population of 400 inhabitants. 
Its chief trade is cotton, corn and grain, which are shipped mostly to St. Louis 
and Memphis. Valuable coal and silver mines have been discovered within eight 
miles, but they are not yet worked to much extent. Good vineyards are culti- 
vated, and grapes will be largely grown in the season. Fruits of various descrip- 
tions grow in great luxmy ; apples grow frequently to 14 ounces, and peaches 
9^ ounces. In the surrounding woods game is plentiful, consisting of deer, bear 



74 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

and turkeys. The Wichita river is witliin one and a half miles, is the best water- 
power for manufacturing purposes in the State, and is well stocked with black 
bass and salmon, and affords ample sport for the angler. Several large stores 
are doing good business. 

The most perfect arrangements were made here for the continuance of our 
route to the Hot Springs. A long line of open platform cars were waiting our 
arrival, and the beauteous sun lent its genial, smihng rays to gladden the hearts of 
that happy troupe. The pretty little town was wild with -excited joy over the 
grand sight presented, and artists were busy preparing views of the scene, which 
will hold a place in the memory of her people for generations to come. At 
the call "all aboard," we started with glad hearts, with the shouts and cheers 
of the assembled citizens to give us a God-speed on our trip. A large cotton 
bush in full blossom, surmounted by a big golden-colored crown, was raised in 
front of the first car, significant of King Cotton, and at the side of the car gar- 
lands of evergreens and flowers were entwined, tied with the emblem colors of 
sincerity and friendship. Under the garland was a handsome flag with the word 
"Welcome" nicely painted thereon. Our route lay on the continuation of the 
line from Little Rock to the Springs, on both sides of us being grandly wooded 
hills, the gorgeous hues of the rich and variegated fohage adding a splendor and 
lustre to the glad vista into which, like a young giant, we were leaping with 
happy hearts. 

At the present end of the line we were met by a cavalcade of the Hot Springs 
citizens, who came as a deputation for our reception, and to convey us in open 
carriages and stages to the Springs, the route lying thither through a grand 
dense forest. This route, in a very few months, will give place to the splendid 
narrow-guage line, which is fast hurrying on and opening up smooth communica- 
tion between the city of Little Eock and the world-wide and far-famed resort — 
the Hot Springs of Ai'kansas. 

ARKADELPHIA. 

This is one of the oldest cities in the State, and is situated on the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad (Cairo & Fulton branch), with a population 
of about 2,000 inhabitants. Here we were received by the citizens and escorted 
to the grand shady groves on the heights, where we were treated to a plenteous 
repast in the form of the old barbecue. The city has gradually advanced in its 
trade and commerce since the war, her merchants being determined to bury the 
past forever and join hand in hand with their Northern friends in making the 
entu-e Union one grand and solid band of united love and good fellowship from 
North to South. It is only within the last three years that the railroad company 
built a station at this point, the great products of fruit, corn and cotton making 
it a duty of the company to do so for transportation to the markets trading with 
it. Its chief staple trade is cotton, which is planted here in great profusion, and 
produces the most splendid crop, which, we observed, was being picked from the 
white fields, and which must well repay the farmer. This was the first point we 
met on our tour where the largest crops are found, and it fairly bespoke for 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 75 

Arkansas lier millions to be reaped this season. Here, too, may be seen great 
fields of splendid corn, the sight of which would gladden the heart of man. It 
was a pleasing scenic change to us after our long passage through the great 
forest, over a distance of 400 mUes, since we set out on our excursion. The 
same kind and liberal feeling was shown us here as at every point on our entire 
route, and we are bound, in common justice to the people of Arkansas, to say 
that nothing could be more hospitable, open and friendly. The Valley of the 
Ouachita produces a grape superior in flavor and quality to most other regions, 
"VYhile all her other products of fruit, etc., are equal to any found in the entire 
State. In the evening a formal reception took place, and some fine addresses 
were delivered, giving an outhne of the early history and products of the State, 
but more especially that portion of it ; and at a late hour we left, retiring to our 
sleeping berths in our "special," which lay in waiting at the depot, and then 
returned to Little Rock, to take whatever route we pleased, some expressing a 
desire to go to Memphis, and others to Altus and on to Fort Smith, to visit the 
Indian Territory. 

THE HOT SPRINGS OP ARKANSAS. 

The city of Hot Springs derives its name from these great and justly cele- 
brated springs. It has a population of about 2,500 inhabitants, but during the 
bathing season this number is more than doubled by tourists, excursionists and 
Invahds from every part of the known world, the latter coming here for the 
renowned heahng benefits of those marvelous waters, many of the springs bear- 
ing a temperature of from 110 to 150 degrees Fahr., the water from which, when 
cooled for general uses, is most refreshing as a beverage, and as clear as the 
finest crystal. Its healing quahties in its natural state are so marvelous that 
scarcely any invalid has ever used it but was soon cured. It is not possible, in 
the space at our command, to enumerate the various diseases these springs have 
eradicated. Neuralgia, rheumatism, consumption, and the various denomina- 
tions of complaints to which flesh is heir, are efi'ectually cured by these springs 
in an incredibly short space of time, when all the medical fraternity have given 
up the patient. One strange fact may be related of these celebrated springs. 
The water loses its medical qualities and chemicals after its transportation in 
wood, this having been proven by a gentleman of unquestionable authority who 
tried to open a trade for the waters in Chicago, and who shipped it in .arge 
quantities in barrels. It is a matter of note that the claimants to the lands on 
which the Hot Springs are located have been in litigation with the United States 
courts for twenty-five years, the case having been continued all that time in 
these courts. But the case is fully expected to be concluded in December next, 
and should the present holders and claimants succeed, they will secure a property 
which at present realizes fully $100,000 a year to three parties alone. 

The springs are very numerous, and burst up from the solid rock, the altitude 
of which is about 250 feet abo^'e the valley in which the city is built, and about 
850 feet above the level of the sea ; the pretty little city below, and the grand 
height of the two great hills on both sides, giving to the eye of an admirer of 



76 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

fine scenery one of the loveliest objects for an artist that could be imagined. 
These splendid hills or gigantic rocks, like the Eagles' Nest at Killarney, being 
thickly planted by the hand of nature with the finest trees and evergreens, the 
hues of which, from the variegated colors of the gorgeous foliage, fall down on 
the little city, giving it an indescribable beauty which no pen can truly depict or 
artist paint, and must be seen to be appreciated. Here the poet might revel in 
dehght, and the enthusiast go wild with a view of panoramic lovehness. Nothing 
could exceed the friendly hospitahty of our reception by the citizens, who 
seemed to vie with each other in making us feel happy and welcome in catering 
to our comfort. It was our pleasure to meet some celebrities here who have 
made some beautiful collections of minerals, and achieved scientific discoveries 
in the different specimens shown us. Pleasant evening parties were gotten up 
for us at the different hotels we were stopping at, which were largely attended 
by the citizens. 

The press is fairly represented by the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Adver- 
tiser. The medical profession has able and experienced practitioners The 
chief hotels are the ArHngton, Hot Springs'- House, Grand Central and Waverly. 

OZARK 

is built upon the north bank of the Arkansas river, which divides it from the 
thriving httle sister town of Webb Cit}^, and is only six miles distant from the 
terminus of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, at Altus. It has commu- 
nication by stage, and carries on a considerable trade in cotton, corn and grain 
of every kind. It became incorporated in 1868. W. W. Jennings is the Post- 
master of the town, and J. W. Gibson is the Mayor. Its population numbers 
about 1,000 inhabitants. Ozark, like all the river towns of the State, is fast 
advancing in trade, and ere long will become a great business point. 

WEBB CITY 

\ 

is situated on the south side of the Arkansas river, and distant from Altus (the 
terminus of the Little Rock & Fort Smith RaUi'oad) about six miles, and lies- 
immediately opposite the town of Ozark, on the north branch of the river. It 
has a population of about 100 inhabitants, who are mostly agricultural producers. 
Its chief products are cotton, corn, wheat and oats, cotton being the staple item 
of its trade. The Postmaster is T. P. WiUiams. It is fast adding to the grow- 
ing trade and importance of the State of Arkansas, and from its energy and 
industry, must soon hold an important position in the list of her growing and 
thriving'- cities. It is reached by stage from the terminus of the Little Rock & 
Fort Smith line at Altus. Its entire surroundings are rich and fertile in their 
agricultural products. 

ALMA 

is a small town, situated about nine miles from Van Buren and 40 from Altus, 
the end of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, enjoying a population of about 
300 inhabitants. It was originally founded by Col. M. L. Lock. It became 



ILLINOIS COKRESPONDENCE. 77 

incorporated only eighteen months ago, and J. D. James has been elected Mayor. 
The fertile farming lands in the immediate vicinity and surroundings are of the 
richest Idnd, and the yield most productive in corn, wheat and cotton, especially 
in the Frog-bayou Bottoms, where the finest farms almost in the State are 
culti vated. There is a plenteous supply of water from the -numerous streams 
and springs for all out-door and in-door necessities. The chief trade is in 
the sale of cotton, grain and wheat, and richly repays the producer, for it 
would appear that the earth yielded up her choicest fruits for man's use and 
benefit in plenteous and luxuriant crops, an^ that without any further aid in 
manure than what nature gave, and the hand of man needs only to sow and 
reap the result in wealth. 

VAN BTTEEN 

is a thriAdng and fast-improving city, situated on the north bank of the Arkansas 
river, in Crawford county, and is the capital of the county and the county seat. 
It was laid out in 1839 and became incorporated in 18€3, and has grown marvel- 
ously into a healthy and prosperous trading little city, with an enterprising spuit, 
having its mills and factories, and may fairly be called the young giant of the 
southwest portion of' the State. Its population numbers about 1,500, with a 
county population of about 12,000. Its first Mayor was the Hon. J, B. Ogden ; 
F. M. Neal now fills that office. Its merchants and traders enjoy a reputation 
for uprightness and soundness in all their transactions, not a single failure having 
occurred for years amongst them. The chief products of the surrounding fertile 
lands (which for 40 years have not required manure) are corn, the average yield 
being from 40 to 60 bushels, but where the land is cultivated it has yielded 100 
l3ushels, the value being from 50 to 60 cents per bushel, the soil being fully four- 
teen feet deep in the bottoms, and has never failed in crops ; cotton is exten- 
sively grown, and produces from one to one and a half bales to the acre, 5,000 
Ijales having been obtained of this crop during the season ; wheat has jdelded 
from 12 to 20 bushels per acre, with a fine crop of oats, and on the uplands 
barley grows well. The splendid farming bottom-lands extend over 24 miles 
long, and are about 46 miles wide, comprising about 80,000 acres. The agricul- 
tural products of these fertile lands "sde in richness and quantity vdth any State 
in the Union. The irrigation all along these bottoms is ample for all purposes, 
the tributaries of the Arkansas river and the rich springs abounding aR along 
the hills giving their ample supply, and passing through Crawford county and 
Lee's creek, Flat Rock, Clear creek and Little Mulberry. On all the uplands 
there are the pine springs, fully from 25 to 40 feet deep below the surface. The 
lands of these heights produce good cereals and grapes of all kinds, the soil 
Ijeing malata, impregnated with iron ore. 

The chief trade of Van Buren consists of the products of the rich surround- 
ings, which are cotton and corn, with fine fruits, and an abundant crop of grapes, 
peaches and pears. Its manufactures embrace six flouring mills, with gin and 
cotton mills. Its educational schools number the free schools and some private 
establishments. It enjoys an intelhgent press, J. S. Dunham being the editor 



78 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

and publisher of the Van Buren Press (weekly), established 1859. The religious 
denominations are the Catholic, Protestant, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and 
Methodist Churches. 

The citizens, for etiquette, friendship and hospitality, intelligence and social 
classes, may be ranked in the foremost States of the Union, while the agricultural 
population are regulated by the principles of peace and good fellowship among 
all men, the colored race being influenced and guided by those examples, and 
the entire country may fairly be §aid to be free from wickedness and vice, the 
laws being observed and freely submitted to. 

The mineral products are ore and coal, which are found in great plenty on the 
streams, the coal being within a few feet of the sui'face in some places, while in 
many it is almost visible on the face of the earth, and is traded in the city by 
the settlers for merchandise, etc., each possessor of the land he holds being 
entitled to the coal and ore. The coal is excellent for household use and steam 
purposes, being almost free from ash and clinkers. 

In our visit to this fine town, we were waited upon by a deputation of her 
leading citizens, who came over the river to the city of Fort Smith and escorted 
us from that city to theirs, which is distant about five miles, and separated by 
the splendid and wide Arkansas river, an ample ferry being built for transporta- 
tion between the north and south banks at this point, many of the citizens of 
Fort Smith having accompanied us, and parted with regret and best- wishes 
for our future prosperity ; aiid the warmest hopes were expressed that the great 
Northwest and the entire world, thi'ough the medium of our welcome visit, 
should receive a true report of that and other portions of the State — the pros- 
perity and fertihty of Arkansas — and might lead many to come and enjoy the 
wealth of the finest land of the Southwest. We took our departure, late in the 
evening, from the truest men we ever met on any soil. 

RECAPITULATION. 

With the pleasantest memories of men and things, we returned from Hot 
Springs to St. Louis, thence to Chicago — so like Arkansas in great things, great 
doings and a great future. Home again after a most pleasant and profitable 
jaunt. 

In concluding this somewhat desultoiy account of a journey fraught with so 
much pleasure, we have to say of Arkansas, briefly, that it is the coming State. 
To own land in Arkansas should be the ambition of every man seeking for a 
home in" a great, prosperous and free commonwealth. The Government can 
stop its work of reconstruction in Arkansas. The reconstruction going on 
there is being accomplished by her own citizens, and should be imitated by 
the other States. Ai-kansas is an empire of peace, plenty and prosperity. Go 
thou and dwell there. 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 79 



From the "STANDARD," CHICAGO. 



EDWAP.D GOODMA]Sr, Correspondent. 



An invitation ha^^ng been extended to the editors of tlu'ee hundred papers of 
the Northwest to join in a grand excursion from St. Louis to Arkansas, about 
one hundred accepted, including the Standard and representatives of leading 
journals from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Ilhnois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and 
Ai'kansas. The invitation was given by Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Com- 
missioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railwaj^, and T. B. Mills 
& Co., dealers in real estate and securities at Little Rock, Arkansas. Its object 
was to give an opportunity to learn of the government and resources of the State, 
so that an intelligent report might be given to the country of the advantages 
Ai'kansas offers for those who deske to settle on Southern soil. 

In company with four others from Chicago, I left on the excellently-managed 
Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Raih'oad, the evening of Monday, September 27. 
At 7.30 next morning, at Alton, I was kindly greeted by Rev. Dr. G. J. John- 
son, and taken in his carriage to his hospitable home for breald'ast. At 10 
o'clock we went per rail to St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi river on the great 
iron bridge, passed through the tunnel to the Union Depot, and in a few minutes 
were landed at 209 North Sixth street, the St. Louis house of the American 
Baptist Publication Society, of which Dr. Johnson is the Depositary '■^nd District 
Secretary for the Southwest. 

THE EXCURSION. 

At St. Louis, 9 p. M. Tuesday, with our hosts, Messrs. Loughborough and 
< Mills, the excursionists boarded ;the cars at the Iron Mountain depot. The train 
consisted of four Pullman sleeping cars, one day car and baggage car. We were 
soon settled for the night, passed the Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, and break- 
fasted at Walnut Ridge, in Ai-kansas, 225 miles from St. Louis, and about 20 
miles south of the Missouri line. Here we saw evidence that we had landed in 
a cotton country, and one of the natives remarked that '■'•picMng cotton is the 
most wurstest job connected with the business." A young black bear, lately 
caught near here, gave much sport, to the crowd. This is a hea^^ly timbered 
region and pretty level. Our next stopping place was NewjDort, where the rail- 
road crosses White river, a na^dgable and very useful stream. At 1 p. m. 
Judsonia greeted us with the United States flag raised on thi-ee bales of cotton, 
and a banner with the inscription, "The pen is mightier than the sword. Editors, 
you are welcome." Rev. Benjamin Thomas, A. T. James and R. C. Browning, 
who are members of the Baptist Church here, and Trustees of Judson University, 
were on the platform to welcome us. The train arrived at 



80 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELERS. 



LITTLE KOCK, 



the capital of the State, about 3.30 p. m. The visitors were received with music 
and hearty welcome, and were distributed among about forty of the citizens, and 
hospitably dined at their houses. I, with Prof. Joseph E. Ware, of St, Louis, 
and Mr. G. F, Marshall, of Cleveland, were welcomed to the elegant house of 
Hon. J. M. Loughborough, and with him and his accomplished wife and inter- 
esting children spent a pleasant hour, after which we were driven round the city, 
Mrs. Loughborough being our guide. 

We noticed the fine location of Little Rock, the old mansions. Gov. Garland's 
house, the arsenal, and the grand magnolia and other trees which adorn the city. 
At the Chamber of Commerce was an agricultural exhibition of the products of 
the State — cotton, corn and the small grains, the grasses, vegetables (a cucumber 
weighings? pounds), fruit, coal, wood, etc. A specimen of bird's-eye pine and 
white holly specially attracted attention. At the shops of the St. Louis, Little 
Rock & Iron Mountain Railroad, had been manufactured, for exhibition at the 
St. Louis Fair, a cabinet, which is remarkable in that it contains the principal 
kinds of wood grown in Arkansas — ash, beech, bois d'arc, cherry, cedar, cj^Dress,' 
gum, holly, hickory, oak, poplar, sassafras, yellow pine and walnut. The cabi- 
net is highly polished, and is really beautiful, and shows how rich in timber 
Arkansas is. The collection of minerals at the office of the Iron Mountain road 
attracted attention. 

At 9 p. M. the citizens of Little Rock gave a grand complimentary banquet to 
the excursionists at Concordia Hall. The stars and stripes decorated the hall, 
appropriate mottoes and pictures were on the walls, the Little Rock Cornet Band 
furnished the music, the ladies furnished the bouquets, which, with the well-, 
furnished tables, presented an attractive look. After supper Hon. J. M. Lough- 
borough acted as chairman, and Gen. R. C. Newton delivered in a handsome way 
the address of welcome, after which toasts and speeches were in order until a 
late hour. With high appreciation of the kindness and nobUity of the citizens of 
Little Rock, we returned to our berths in Pullman's cars, and during the night 
traveled 43 miles southwest to Malvern, where brealrfast was provided at the 
Morse and Mchols Hotels. 

MALVERN 

is the point where travelers leave the railroad for Hot Springs, a distance of 22 
miles. A narrow-gauge raUi'oad is being built from Malvern to Hot Springs by 
Joseph Raynolds, Esq., to cost, vdth rolling stock, about $325,000. Thi'ough 
the courtesy of Major G. P. C. Rumbough, <3hief engineer, we were taken out on 
the track eight miles, and there met a caravan of stages, hacks and other vehicles, 
which conveyed us to 

HOT SPRINGS, 

where we arrived at 3 p. m. , and were assigned to the different hotels, at which 
we were royally entertained. A bath before dinner was most enjoj^able. There 
is a peculiar pleasui-e from bathing in and diiuking the Hot Springs water. With 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 81 

Co]". Eloii G. Smith as pilot, we visited the various springs on the mountain sides, 
and were impressed with their value as agencies to help poor suffering humanity. 
In the evening, at the Ai'lington House, a grand reception was given to "Qie 
excursionists, Col. Elon G. Smith being chairman. Col. John M. Harrell gave 
the addi'ess of welcome, which was responded to by Gen. Pierce. A large num- 
ber of the ladies and gentlemen of Hot Springs were present on this occasion, 
and added much to the enjoyment of the evening until a late hour. 

Hot Springs contains about 4,000 inhabitants. The population has doubled 
within two years. The town is nestled among the hills, which rise to the height 
of near 600 feet. There is a horse-raih'oad one and three-quarter miles long, 
which traverses the principal street in the valley. Houses extend some two and 
a half miles up and down the valley. Some 15,000 to 20,000 visitors come to 
Hot Springs during the year, a large number of them sick people. The principal 
hotels are the Arlington House, Hot Springs House and Grand Central Hotel, 
where board can be obtained at from $50 to $90 per month. There are some 
15 smaller hotels, where board is from $25 to $40 a month. There are some 15 
or 20 physicians, some of them eminent practitioners. The waters are valuable 
for skin diseases, paralysis, rheumatism, neuralgia, gout, etc. Wonderful cures 
are continually reported, and, from what we heard and saw, we believe the 
accounts are not exaggerated. These springs, some 57 in number, range in 
temperature from 90 to 150 degrees Fahr. Those troubled with dropsy and 
diseases of the lungs, heart and brain cannot expect relief. 

I was glad to find a Baptist church at Hot Springs. It is some 35 years 
old, with a present membership of 24. There are many more Baptists in 
the valley, and an effort is being made to reorganize, call a pastor, and estabhsh 
a flourishing church. It was pleasant to find Col. Elon G. Smith (a member of 
Dr. Burlingham's church in St. Louis) hearty in his efforts to forward the 
movement. 

Bidding adieu to Hot Springs, and with high appreciation of the hospitable 
reception given by the citizens, we started early in the morning, and by stage 
and the narrow-gauge road reached Malvern in the afternoon. 

The visitor and poor invalid will rejoice when the raih'oad is completed from 
Malvern, for it seems almost a miracle that some of them sur\dve the stage ride 
over the rough and dangerous road to the springs. It is expected that the cars 
wUl be running about 16 miles from Malvern by November 1, and by January 1, 
or before, be completed to Hot Springs. 

AN ACCIDENT 

happened to one of the stages while descending a hiU. The brake snapped, and 
the heavily loaded vehicle ran against the wheel-horses, they against the leaders. 
The runaway passed one coach safely and came upon the next, in which I with 
eight others were seated. We were expecting to be dashed into by the furious 
team behind, but as they struck our coach one of the leaders ran his fore-foot 
between the spokes and was thrown to the ground, his hoof being severed from 
6 



82 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the limb. A pistol-stiot soon put an end to his misery. This sudden stoppage 
probably saved our lives. There was only slight injury sustained b}^ the 
passengers, thanks to Him who rules on high and suffers not a sparrow to fall 
without his notice. 

From Malvern we were taken by our train 22 miles to 

ARKADELPHIA, 

the county seat of Clark county. Hei'e a novelty awaited us, the citizens pro- 
viding a barbecue? They had roasted parts of three beeves, six sheep and four 
or five shoats, with sweet potatoes, and 500 pounds of flour baked into bread. 
A long table was arranged in a grove, and the solid food was eaten with a relish. 
After this a large number of the citizens joined the excursionists and visited the 
cotton fields a few miles below. It was six o'clock, and the time to see the 
negroes carrying their baskets of cotton to the cotton pens to be weighed. 
Negroes earn 75 cents per 100 pounds picking cotton, and board themselves, or 
50 cents per 100 including their board and lodging. They pick from 100 to 300 
or 400 pounds per day. Cotton jdelds from a bale to a bale and a half per acre^ 
and is worth from $60 to $75 per bale. To many of us it was the first time 
we had rambled ih a cotton-field.' The black lands are rich in this section, 
and very productive in corn as well as cotton; fruits grow abundantly — grapes 
as fine as in Switzerland; vegetables, sweet and Irish potatoes grow to an 
immense size. 

It was on the programme to travel 80 miles further to Texarkana, on the 
Texas line, and the terminus of the St. Louis, Little Rock & Southern Railway, 
but being behind time about three hours prevented it, so we returned to Arka- 
delphia after dark, and a public reception was tendered at the Reames House, 
Judge H. B. Stewart being president. Col. Goulding gave the address of wel- 
come. Toasts and speeches were again the order of the evening, which revealed 
a vast amount of good feehng, and the desire was expressed that this visit should 
redound to the benefit of the two sections of the country represented. 

Ai'kansas has much to in-vite the immigrant — has vast natural resources where 
it is easy to acquire wealth. The lands compare favorably with any, and only 
require labor and skill to develop them. 

Col. Thompson said the soil in Clark county challenges the investigation of 
the world, and complimented Col. Loughborough and Col. T, B. Mills, who have 
invited attention to the same. 

Gen. Bishop, of Little Rock, referred to ten years ago when many present 
were upon opposite sides in the war. Now how changed! Strife has passed 
away; we are at peace ; we want immigration, and we look in the main for immi- 
gi-ation which is American in its character. There are grand opportunities here 
in the manufacturing line. 

Judge Stewart spoke of the desire for reconciliation. The people of Arliansas. 
are tired of strife, are satisfied with the government as it exists, and respect the 
laws. There is no cause for strife or sectional feeling — we ai*e a band of brethren.. 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 83 

Gen. McMillan spoke of the richness of the Valley of the "Washita, of apples 
weighing a pound and a half, which beat the apples of the Garden of Eden, and 
the Washita grapes, which had been transplanted to France. He said, "God 
Almighty had done everything for us, and we are so lazy — that's what's the 
matter." "But," said he, "tell your people we are improving— we are all one. 
God has desired it ; we are one, a'nd we will be one." 

The hearty welcome and kind sentiments expressed were responded to by 
Sidney Thomas, of Chicago, Mr. Robinson, of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Rev. W. 
A. Clark, of Elkhart, Ind. 

After remarks b_y Col. Loughborough, at a rather late hour the meeting 
adjourned. The night was passed in our sleeping-coaches, and the morning of 
Saturday found us again at Little Rock. On the way we were amused with a 
band of darkies dancing round a log fire, to the music of the banjo. 

^ AT LITTLE ROCK 

the excursionists separated for the day — some accepting an invitation to visit 
the country along the Fort Smith road, and others going on the Memphis & 
Little Rock road. After breakfast I joined the party going out on the 

MEMPHIS & LITTLE ROCK RAILROAD. 

This road is 135 miles from Little Rock to Memphis, and is the oldest road in 
the State. It traverses in part a prairie country. We crossed Long Prairie, 
where land can be had at $1.50 to $3.00 per acre, and stopped at Lonoke, the 
county seat of Lonoke county. About 8,000 bales of cotton were shipped from 
this point this year. Five miles away are the rich woods, said to be the finest 
cotton lands in the State. 

At Lonoke is a Baptist church of 50 members, Rev. J. P. Eagle, pastor. One 
of the members, H. C. Hinton, joined the train, and gave much information. 
There is a college at Lonoke, of which Prof. E. C. Brinkley is President. 

At Carlisle, in Prairie county, further on, we were met by Ex-Gov. O. A, 
Hadley, Samuel McCormick, Esq., and others, who took us to a store near by, 
where had been gathered the products of the county, principally from the 
nursery of John D. Morrow & Sons, said to be the largest in the State. The 
exhibition of fruits, etc., was very fine; one pear weighed two pounds three 
ounces* We were then taken to see a cotton gin in operation, which was a great 
novelty to some of us. 

At Prairie Center we were shown a Dederick Perpetual Baling Press, driven 
by steam power. Baled hay is evidently largely exported from this section. At 
D avail's Bluff the road crosses White river. The " Surrounded Hills " country 
is a fine cotton and corn region. It was said that cotton this year had grown 
too luxuriantly, has not boiled sufiiciently. ^ The negroes, as a class, are doing 
better than was expected. We are told they are credited as far as a white man. 
At Brinkley, 65 miles from Little Rock, is a large steam saw-mill, owned by 
Messrs. Gunn & Black. They supply lumber to Memphis and the region round 



84 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

about. Here we were informed that there were for sale 24,000 acres of land 
in a body at $1 per acre ; one-third prairie land, rest timbered. 

FORREST CITT, 

county seat of St. Francis count}^, 40 miles from Memphis, and 95 miles from 
Little Rock, was the objective point of the day's excursion. Here preparations 
were made hy the citizens to receive our party. We were marched to the pubhe 
hall, and Mayor Pope welcomed us heartily, and offered the hospitalities of the 
city. After dinner at the different hotels and residences, an opportunity was 
offered to visit the farms around the city. To Dr. J. B. Cummings I am indebted 
for a buggy ride, which gave an opportunity to notice the cotton and corn fields 
and fruit orchards. At Forrest City the St. Francis County Immigration Society, 
of Arkansas, has its headquarters. It offers to emigrants seeldng homes, infor- 
mation and assistance in procuring the same in this county on the best terms. 
The lands are productive, timber good, climate mild, and nearly ^1 the products 
of the North and South are profitably raised. 

The citizens of Forrest City will long be remembered for their kindness and 
hospitality^ Our train returned to Little Rock in the evening, and at a late hour 
those who had parted in the morning met again at our, Pullman travehng home 
and started for St. Louis. 

Those who had gone on the Fort Smith road reported a grand time and hearty 
reception by the residents of that region, abounding in minerals, and producing 
the semi-anthracite coal of Arkansas, which is ha\'ing a large sale, and is used in 
St. Louis. 

A preparatory school was commenced in January, 1872, Miss Mattie Briggs 
being the first teacher, after which Prof. Leroy Bates rendered most valuable 
ser^ace b}^ his ability and devotion to the interests of the institution. After 
Professor Bates, Professor and Mrs. M. H. Copeland taught for two terms, untU 
June, 1875. Since then an advanced movement has been inaugurated. The 
college building, which had been located half a mile away, has been moved to a 
site of five and a half acres, in the centre of the town, and enlarged. The main 
part of the reconstructed building is 72 bj^ 40 feet, with an addition on the east 
side of 20 by 20 feet. It is two stories high, with a bell-tower on the west side. 
The first stoiy is built of stone. It is heated b}^ a furnace, and a green-house is 
arranged for the south side 30 by 7 feet. The building, when completed, is 
expected to be free from debt. The seats and desks are of the best Idnd — made 
at Sterling, 111. 

The Baptist church and Sabbath-school will be accommodated in this building. 
The campus-ground, which has a growth of fine oak, black gum and other trees, 
will, when contemplated improvements are completed, present a yery attractive 
appearance. 

The opening of the term this month — October, 1875 — will cdmmence a new 
era in the history of the institution. A full faculty has been organized, with 
Rev. Benjamin Thomas, D. D., President; Franlthn A. Slater, B. S., Professor 



ILLINOIS COKRESPONDENCE. 85 

of Mathematics, Philosophy and Civil Engineering ; Henry S. Reynolds, Profes- 
sor of Chemistry and Natural History ; Mrs. M. J. Green, Intermediate Teacher ; 
Mrs. F. A. Reynolds, Instructor in Elementary Branches ; Mrs. Adela J. Thomas, 
D. M., Teacher of Instrumental and Vocal Music ; C. C. Smith, Practical Horti- 
culturist; Hon. T. C. Humphry, M. D., Lecturer on Anatomy, Physiology and 
Hygiene. 

AH are Baptists excejDt one. Professor Slater is a graduate of Denison Uni- 
versity, Ohio, and Professor and Mrs. Reynolds, of the Industrial University, 
Illinois. The prospect is that the institution wiU be hberally patronized. Dr. 
Thomas has his heart and soul engaged in the work, and expects, with the bless- 
ing of God and the co-operation of his brethren, to see the institution develop 
into that which its name imphes. 

The charter provides that the President and a majority of Trustees shaU 
always be Baptists. The sale of intoxicating liquors, gambhng, etc., are pro- 
hibited within three miles of the college. 

The Arkansas Baptist State Convention, at its last session in Arkadelphia, 
passed enthusiastic resolutions indorsing the Judson University. A. T. James 
is Recording Secretary ; P. L. Barker, Corresponding Secretary ; and R. C. 
Browning, Treasurer. The Board of Trustees is composed of nineteen members. 
Success, we say, to Judson University. 

On Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting with the Baptist church. Dr. 
Thomas preached in the morning and Rev. J. Bishop in the afternoon. Bro. 
Bishop is from Fulton county, Indiana, near Rochester, has been here two years, 
and is well pleased — " perfectly delighted," as he expressed it. He has 80 acres 
of land two and a half miles north of Judsonia. Bro. Thomas and I dined at 
his house, and feasted on the products of his farm — sweet potatoes, peaches, 
honey, plum jelly, preserves, etc. White county is regarded as one of the most 
desirable in the State for settlers. It is the home of the peach, which is a sure 
crop, and the native country of the bee. Fruits of all kinds are plentiful. 

Mr. Bishop raises on his farm sweet potatoes, 75 bushels and upwards to the 
acre, which sell at 75 cents ; peanuts, 75 bushels to the acre, which sell at $1 ; 
peaches, stock peas, wheat, rye, barley, corn, broom-corn, hay, cotton, onions, 
turnips, etc. The upland soil in this county is clay mixed with sand, the bottom- 
land is loam mixed with sand. There is an inexhaustible supply of flat building 
stone easily obtained near Judsonia, and good farms and families around. Prof. 
C. C. Smith has the nucleus of a nursery about one and a half miles north of 
Judsonia, which I was pleased to visit. 

Searcy, the county seat of White county, four miles from Judsonia, contains 
1,400 people. I was sorry not to be able to go there and see brethren Boone 
and Esp3^, the publishers of the Western Baptist. Ai-kansas, with its 35,000 
Baptists, and a large number of colored Baptists, ought to sustain a good paper. 

Bidding adieu to Judsonia, and Bro. A. T. James and wife, who had kindly 
entertained me, I, with Bro. Thomas, returned to Little Rock for a few hours, 
and learned somewhat of the Baptist chui'ch, which has forty members. They 



86 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

have a brick house, costing about $10,000. Eev. J. W. Turner has lately 
become their pastor, and is encouraged in his work. ' 

I visited the office of the enterprising firm of T. B. Mills & Co., in Little Rock, 
publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas, which has a monthly circulation of 30,000 
copies. They give special attention to the sale of lands, and invite purchases 
for the timber and prairie lands of the State, the stock, wheat, corn and fruit 
lands, the pine and oak lands, the cotton, sugar, grape, coal and mineral lands. 

To the enterprise of Mr: Mills, as well as Mr. Loughborough, is largely due 
the success of tlie Editorial Excursion to Arkansas. There will be many pleasant 
recollections of the visit, and we hope the result will prove favorable to the State. 
It should be mentioned that the presence of Hon. H. J. Shh'k, of Peru, Indiana, 
and Col. Logan H. Roots, of Little Rock, with others, added much to the pleas- 
ure of the trip from the start at St. Louis. 



FROM THE "DECATUR REPUBLICAN." 



J. E. JklOSSER, Editor. 



It has become the fashion with railroad companies of late, and more par- 
ticularly with such railroad companies as have land to dispose of, to organize 
excursion parties for the entertainment of newspaper men, with a ^dew of thereby 
placing their advantages more conspicuously before the public. These excur- 
sions have proven mutually beneficial to all parties, inasmuch as they afford the 
journalistic fraternity an opportunity of enjoying a pleasant season of recreation, 
and the accounts of the trip as written up hy them furnish the railroad com- 
panies with a quid pro quo that amply repays them for all their outlay. 

Following the example of other companies, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 
Southern Railway Company, through its Land Commissioner, Hon. J. M. Lough- 
borough, recently extended an invitation to a number of newspaper editors 
throughout the Northwest to participate in an excursion over the hne of its road. 
In this invitation the company was joined by Messrs. T. B. MiUs & Co., pub- 
lishers of the Spirit of Arkansas, and heavy dealers in real estate at Little Rock. 
In response to this imdtation some eighty members of the press assembled in 
St. Louis on the afterfioon of the 28th of September, to participate in the excur- 
sion. The party included representatives of the press from the States of Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and 
Kentucky. A train of Pullman cars had been provided, and at nine o'clock 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE, 87 

P. M. the expedition got under way. Morning found us just across the Missouri 
State line, and after a good brealdast at Walnut Ridge the train was off again 
through the swamps of Northern Arkansas. 

Early in the afternoon the party arrived at Little Rock, which was found to 
be a thriving, beautiful city of over 20,000 inhabitants, everj^ one of whom 
seemed bent on doing everything possible for the entertainment of their visitors. 
A ride about the city and a reception and banquet in the evening completed the 
ceremonial part of the entertainment, and some time after midnight the excur- 
sionists left for Hot Springs. 

Malvern, an embryo city in the woods, is the nearest station to Hot Springs, 
from which it is distant about 26 miles. A narrow-gauge raih'oad is in process 
of construction between Malvern and the springs, some eight miles of which are 
completed. A trip over these eight miles in flat cars was really one of the most 
Interesting features of the trip, and formed a pleasing contrast to the horrors of 
the other 18 miles of staging. Of the visit to ^he springs it is not necessary to 
say much, for the peculiarities and wonders of that mountain village, where 
invalids from every civilized nation congregate to seek health, have been heralded 
in every language which boasts a newspaper. Suffice it to say that every facility 
was afforded the party for 'seeing the remarkable features which have given to 
Hot Springs such a world-wide reputation. The excursionists were afforded an 
opportunity of washing the dust of travel from their persons in the bath-houses 
of the village, and all took occasion to qtiaff a goblet or two of the wonderful 
hot water, which is the principal beverage of the people there. A visit was also 
made to the famous locality known as " Ral City," which is a portion of the 
mountain given up to such invalids as are too poor to pay for accommodations 
at the hotels, and many of whom are too loathsome in their putridity to be fit 
for civilized association. Here they live in all sorts of hovels, and the celebrated 
" Ral Hole," in which they bathe, is frequently packed full of festering humanity, 
who mingle together on terms of most democratic equahty, without regard to 
age, sex, color or previous condition. The equalizing influence of the magic 
"'ral" places all on a level — and a mighty low-down level it is, too. 

Returning to Malvern, the excursionists — thanliful to be again in a region 
where the scream of a locomotive is heard — re-embarked on the Iron Mountain 
road, and after a delightful ride of an hour landed at Arkadelphia, which is 
handsomely located on the Ouachita river. Here a barbecue had been prepared 
for the solace of the true inwardness that had been aroused by the long and tedi- 
ous journey from Hot Springs. After the conclusion of the feast, and being 
reinforced by a score or more of Arkadelphians, the party again entered the cars 
and journeyed down the road a few miles to some immense cotton-fields, where 
all could see the process of picking the fleecy crop which forms so large a share 
of the industry of Arkansas. 

Morning found the excursionists again at Little Rock, where the party was 
divided into two sections, one division going eastward, on the Memphis & Little 
Rock Railroad, and tire other westward on the railroad leading to Fort Smith. 
The writer preferred to remain in Little Rock, and, therefore, did not see what 



bo THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

those who made these trips represent as the finest agricultural portions of the 
State. The train left Little Kock on the return trip northward at a late hour 
Saturday night, arriving in St. Louis soon after dark on Sunday evening. 

It would not be proper to dismiss the subject of the excursion without a 
word or two with reference to the gentlemen to whom the representative of the 
Repuhlican is indebted for numerous courtesies. The railroad officials, assisted 
by the citizens of the various places visited, made every effort to entertain the 
•party, and show to their guests the advantages of their hitherto unknown State. 
To Major W. J. Murphy, of Little Rock, the writer is especially indebted for 
numberless kindnesses, and for attentions which will not soon be forgotten. 
Also to Mr. W. S. Davis, of the same city, whose labors for the comfort of 
the whole party were indefatigable. 

IMPRESSIONS. 

The State of Arkansas is, to the outside world, almost an unknown region. 
Admitted into the Union in 1836, with a population of 52,240, it only numbered 
within its borders 484,471 inhabitants in 1870. Its progress, as will be seen by 
these figures, has been remarkably slow, in spite of its healthful location. The 
tide of emigration has passed it by and sought other lands to the north and 
northwest of its borders. It would be foreign to the objects of this article to 
discuss the causes which have kept Arkansas in the background, the pm^pose 
beihg merely to speak of the advantages it offers to the emigrant. 

To the man who desires to secure a cheap homestead, Arkansas offers many 
advantages. It has a diversified soil, upon which nearly all the productions of 
the temperate zone can be raised. While its bottom-lands are pecuharly adapted 
to the cultivation of the cotton plant, they will also yield rich crops of corn, 
samples of which were shown to the excursion party that would have been no 
discredit to Illinois. On the uplands wheat of the best quality is grown, and 
though the cultivation of this and other cereals has been neglected in a great 
measure, because of the almost insane desire to grow cotton, experience has 
shown that the diversity of crops which has been so profitable in the North 
would be just as beneficial in Arkansas. Oats, also, seem peculiar^ adapted to 
the soil, and the specimens shown were such as would dehght the heart of an 
Illinois farmer — especially this year. No attention has been paid to the raising 
of blue grass, though it is said to flourish well. Timothy and millet grow to 
mammoth size, and the castor-bean, in its wild state, reaches almost to the pro- 
portions of a sapling. Fruits of all kinds are produced with a degree of certainty 
unknown in Northern climes, and the specimens on exhibition were of a kind 
that would make the mouth of an anchorite water. Peaches, pears, apples, figs 
and other fruits grow in abundance, while the hills and mountains produce 
grapes of the very first quality. There is no doubt as to the fertihty of the soil. 

The native woods of Arkansas embrace a large variety, adapted to all the 
wants of man. Cypress, poplar, yellow pine, walnut, ash, linn and other useful 
varieties abound in endless quantity, and the trees grow to a size which fully 
attest the fertility of the soil. The lumber interests of the State must soon 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 89 

come into prominence, and manufacturing grow into a wonderful industry. At 
present there are only a few saw and planing mills, but the manufacture of 
furniture and other necessary products of lumber will soon follow. There is no 
furniture factory in the State, and the building of one at Little Rock could not 
fail to be a profitable investment. The same might be said of other industries 
of a similar character. 

The mineral wealth of Arkansas is almost unlimited, and embraces deposits of 
iron, coal, lead, copper, zinc, tin, silver, manganese and other ores. Besides 
these are quarries of the best of building stone, slate, gypsum, limestone, 
marble, whetstone rock, etc. There are also vast deposits of ochres and paint- 
earths, white sand for glass-making, together with nitre caves, saline springs, etc. 

Of the unoccupied lands in the State, the United States Government still owns 
about eight million acres, all of which is subject to homestead entry. The State 
of Arkansas has something over a million of acres, besides two and a half 
millions of unconfirmed swamp land which will finally be in her possession. The 
swamp lands are sold at two dollars per acre, cash. The forfeited lands are dis- 
posed of on payment of the taxes due, or are donated to actual settlers. Every 
head of a family is entitled to 160 acres, and to an additional 160 acres for 
his wife and each of his minor children. The fees to be paid on application 
for these lands amount to |2.50 on each 160 acres. Of the railroad lands in 
the State the Cairo & Fulton Railroad (now the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & 
Southern) owns nearly two miUion acres, which are offered in forty-acre tracts, 
at low rates and on reasonable terms. 

In conclusion, it is only speaking the truth to say that Arkansas is a State of 
great possibihties ; that it has a healthful climate, a fertile soil, and an order- 
loving people ; that its grea needs are industry and enterprise ; and that with a 
liberal infusion of these two commodities it will not be long lingering behind its 
sisters in the march of progress. One of the most distinguished citizens of the 
State said to the writer: " We want your people to come down here and show 
us how to make a minute available. ' ' He could not have better expressed the 
great need of Arkansas in an hour's speech. 



FROM THE "GIRARD REVIEW." 



HENRY E. EVARTS, Correspondent. 



Our excursionists took the cars at the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway depot at St, Louis at nine o'clock p, m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, We reached 
Moai'k, on the State hue, about da3^break the 29th, When we arrived at Walnut 
Ridge we found an excellent breakfast prepared for us, to which we all did ample 



90 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

justice. At this station we had the honor of interviewing one of the genuine 
natives of tliis country, consisting of a huge black bear that was kept chained 
near the hotel, and was caught when a cub in the timber surrounding this place, 
in which great numbers of them can be found. 

The country from Moark to Grande Glaise, where the railroad crosses White 
river, is perfectly level timber land, consisting of white oak, red oak, walnut, 
hickory, ash, gum, sassafras and cypress, with an undergrowth of persimmon, 
pawpaw, vines and cane. The soil is a gray sandy loam, and very productive 
under the proper mode of cultivation, corn and cotton growing luxuriantly, and 
the various cereals do well ; all kinds of vegetables are raised with very little 
trouble ; fruits of all lands raised in the North grow here to perfection when 
planted. This country is also well adapted to stock-raising, cattle living the 
year round in the bottoms and cane-brakes without extra feed ; hogs also are 
raised and fattened on the mast ; sheep do well, but require protection from 
wild animals. There is very little of this country under cultivation as yet. This 
land, the unimproved, is worth from $1 to $2 per acre; improved, from $5 to 
$8, according to improvements and distance from stations. At Newport, on the 
White river, six miles from where the railroad crosses, is a large steam saw-mill 
engaged in working up the various timbers of this country, whence they are 
shipped to St. Louis. 

Our train stopped at Newport 20 minutes, during which time our excursionists 
were busy in obtaining all the interesting items relative to this country and its 
productions. After crossing White river the country changes its aspect ; from 
there to the Arkansas river it is a hilly, rolling, and in places rising into a moun- 
tainous country, densely covered with timber, consisting of oak, ash, hickory, 
maple, pine and walnut. This country, excepting in the creek bottoms, is not 
so well adapted to cultivation as the country east of White river, it being vfery 
stony and hard to plow. Fak crops of corn, wheat and oats are raised, but the 
soil is not deep enough for cotton, it being a red, sandy clay intermixed with 
gravel, and resting on a red sandstone formation. This country is well adapted 
to the raising of cattle and sheep, the hills producing fine grasses and the creeks 
supplying good clear water, being mostly fed by springs. Fruits succeed in this 
country almost beyond comprehension, such as apples, pe«,ches, pears, plums, 
grapes, cherries and small fruits, and berries of all kinds attain a size and flavor 
unsurpassed in any other country. 

At Judsonia our train stopped for 30 minutes in order to give our editors a 
chance to glean some items of interest. Judsonia is about 50 miles northeast of 
Little Rock. It contains a university embracing various branches of study and 
conferriiig all regular degrees. It is settled by an enterprising community, dis- 
tinguished for intelligence and morality. There is not a saloon in the place. 
Throughovit this country unimproved lands can be bought for from $2 to $3 per 
acre ; improved for $4 to $6 per acre, according to distance from station and 
state of improvements. In this part of Arkansas it is very healthy, the climate 
being mild and pleasant during the winter months ; cattle requke but very lit- 
tle feeding during the year. The country is but partially settled as yet, but 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 91 

emigrants are beginning to come to this country, a great many of whom are 
from Ohio and Illinois. 

Our train arrived at Little Rock about three o'clock p. m., and was welcomed 
by an immense concourse of people, and music by the Cornet Band of Little Rock. 
Hacks and carriages were in readiness to convey the party to the residences of 
the various citizens who were to entertain the various members of our party. 
Your correspondent became the guest of Capt. John H. Cherry, at his resi- 
dence on Capitol Hill, and was very agreeably entertained by Capt. Cherry 
and his wife, a very intelligent and accomplished lady, formerly of Springfield, 
nUnois. 

After partaking of an excellent dinner, I entered the carriage with my host, 
and we visited the various places of interest in and around Little Rock ; also the 
Exhibition Hall of the Fort Smith Railroad Land Office, where I saw some of the 
finest collections of agricultural and pomological productions I ever saw in my life. 
There was one pear on exhibition weighing 27 ounces, also an apple weighing 22 
ounces ; a single specimen of the Tonqua cucumber weighing 57 pounds, and 
measuring four feet in length ; pumpkins large as flour barrels ; cornstalks 17 to 
19 feet in height, with eai's 12 to 15 inches in length ; specimens of wheat, oats, 
rye, millet, cotton and various kinds of grasses that surpassed anything I ever 
saw ; also the various collections of native woods on exhibition, the various 
vegetable and mineral productions, all of them the productions of Arkansas. 
Taken altogether, the collections go to show the natural resources of the State, 
and what vast wealth lies undeveloped, which only requires Northern capital and 
energy to make her one of the leading States of the Union. 

After lea^ang the exhibition rooms I repaired to Concordia Hall, where had 
assembled all the members of our party to partake of the complimentary banquet 
prepared by the citizens of Little Rock in honor of our coming. The banquet 
proved a decided success in every particular. At 9.20 the editors were escorted 
in and seated, then followed the invited guests. Then the feasting began. And 
here let me not forget to mention the excellent music furnished by the Cornet 
Band, consisting of twelve pieces, and who enlivened the occasion by soul-stir- 
ring music at intervals during the entertainment. The meeting was called to 
order by Hon. J. M. Loughborough. Gen. R. C. Newton delivered the welcome 
address in an earnest knd heartfelt manner ; then followed toasts and responses, 
accompanied by the sounds of feasting, merry-making, the popping of cham- 
pagne corks and the clinking of glasses, which was kept up until a very 
late hour, and the entertainment assumed an aspect of decidedly convivial char- 
acter. Our excursionists did full justice to the hospitalities of the occasion, 
from the way they stowed away the good things, both Hquid and solid. I never 
before could fully understand the unlimited capacity of a man's stomach, 
especially an editor's. When on the train, just before arriving at Little Rock, a 
vote was taken, and a majority of the party were in favor of specie basis ; but at 
the feast their actions all proved them to be in favor of expansion, even at the 
Imminent danger of their waistcoat buttons. Our entertainment did not close 
until one a. m. 



92 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

At two o'clock we retired to the sleepers and departed for Malvern, and our 
party were all asleep when we reached there. In the morning we took breakfast 
a the Morse House, after which we took the cars on the narrow-gauge road from 
Malvern to Hot Springs. Ten miles from Malvern, as far as the road is com- 
pleted, we found stages waiting to convey us to Hot Springs, a distance of 
eighteen miles, over a very rough broken country, covered with heavy timber 
consisting of oak, hickory, pine, walnut, chestnut, ash, hackberry, gum, catalpa, 
sycamore, lime and dog-wood. The country seems quite productive, considering 
its rough character and rocky soil ; corn, wheat, cotton and other crops seem 
to do well in the valleys and on the hill-slopes ; there are in different sections 
throughout this locality, valuable quarries of stone, making the finest hones and 
oil-stones in the world, also rich mines of nickel, vast beds of magnetic ore or 
lodestone ; also traces of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc have been found 
here, specimens of which were on exhibition at Little Rock. Land in this 
vicinity mostly belongs to the Government and is only open to homestead settlers, 
though there are some tracts belonging to private parties, which can be bought 
very cheap. We arrived at the city of Hot -Springs about one o'clock and 
repaired to the different hotels to dinner, after which we visited the various 
objects of interests in which this remarkable region abounds, the most notable 
of which are the hot springs, of which there are fifty-seven, all issuing from. Hot 
Spring Mountain, fifty to one hundred feet above the level of the valley. The 
temperature of the springs varies from 95 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit ; the waters 
are said to possess great curative properties for all rheumatic, nervous and cuta- 
neous diseases. The city contains a resident population of about 2,000, and 
there is always a transient population of as many more. At this place an 
immense amount of trade is carried on, there being over one hundred business 
houses in the city besides the hotels, which comprise nearly one-half the houses, 
and the trade bids iair to be doubled when the railroad is completed from Mal- 
vern to Hot Springs. The city consists of a single street built on either side of 
hot spring, and on each side is built the blocks of buildings consisting entirely 
of wooden houses, not a brick building being found in the place, owing to the 
fact that the title to the land is uncertain, and any person having the means and 
inchnation to do so could build on any vacant spot of ground, provided he had 
the courage and disposition to maintain his position by force of arms. The land 
is now in litigation and will be decided next session of the United States Supreme 
Court. It appears that in 1812, four sections of the land containing the springs 
was reserved by the Government as an Indian reservation, and with a view to 
establishing a United States hospital, but since then some parties claim to have 
acquired.-a title by purchase from the Government, though they so far have not 
been able to establish their claims. Among the claimants is ex-Gov. Rector, of 
Little Rock. 

In company with some of the members of our party I visited the park at the 
north end of the city, and enjoyed the novel spectacle of a fight bfetween a bear 
and two dogs, which, however, was no great sight after all, as both bear and 
dogs confined themselves to a skirmish at long range, and did uot seem at all 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 93 

Inclined to pitch in, which, by the way, seems to be characteristic of all kinds of 
Arkansas warfare, from bears and dogs to human beings. After the close of this 
bloodless engagement, I returned to the Hot Springs hotel bathing-houses, where 
I enjoyed the luxury of a good bath, and can highly recommend it as possessing 
remarkable refreshing power, and being very efficient in remo^'ing the dust of 
toil and travel. At nine o'clock a formal reception was given the party at the 
Arhngton House. The welcome address was delivered by Col. John M. Harrell, 
after which a grand hop was given in the hall, which was kept up until well into 
the small hours of the morning. About eighty ladies were in attendance, and 
the briUiancy of their complexions, sparkling of their eyes, and the grace and 
agility of their movements gave ample evidence of the healthful and exhilarating 
effects produced by the daily use and consumption of the waters of the springs. 
During the progress of the hop our excursionists received frequent imitations 
to go up stairs and smile over some of the finest native wines I ever tasted ; there 
were also champagne and port, and I can truly say that when the citizens offered 
us such cordial invitations there were very few that had the strength of will or 
the inclination to refuse. 



FROM THE "SHELDON ENTERPRISE." 



D. J. EASTMAN, Editor. 



Through the kindness of Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of 
the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, and Col. T. B. Mills & Co., 
of Little Rock, publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas, and largely interested in 
the sale of lands throughout the State of Arkansas, we received invitation to 
join in an editorial excursion, to start from St. Louis Tuesday night, September 
28th, and travel over various portions of the State of Arkansas. 



OBJECT OF THE EXCURSION. 



There had been such wide-spread and exaggerated reports of cvnl and political 
dissensions among the people of the State, together with representations that 
Arkansas was made up of a succession of mountains, hills, cyi^ress swamps, bar- 
ren wastes, etc., that it was thought best by those interested in the development 
of the vast resources of this commonwealth, to organize an excursion of editors, 
representing a large number of the leading papers of the Northwest, and let them 
behold the surface of the country, view their splendid crops, examine into the 



94 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

character of their soil, talk with, and, to a certain extent, become acquainted with 
the habits and customs of the people, and upon their return give their readers in 
the North facts as they learned them, 

ORGANIZATION OF THE EXCURSION. 

At nine o'clock p. m. September 28th, about 75 editors, representing different 
sections of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, 
Iowa and Kansas, assembled at the Iron Mountain depot, corner of Main and 
Plum streets, St. Louis, where a special train, consisting of one engine, four 
elegant Pullman sleeping cars, one passenger coach and a baggage car, was in 
waiting. On board we were in\ited, and on we went, to be at once drawn for- 
ward at a speed of 20 miles per hour among the hills and mountains of Southeast 
Missouri. Daylight the next morning found us at Moark, a thriving little village. 
in Ai-kansas, and terminus of the first di^dsion of the road. Our stay here was. 
short, aTad consequently we saw but little of the town. Two hours later and we 
reached "Walnut Ridge, in Lawrence county, where the train came to a stand,, 
and we were invited to refresh the inner man with the products of Arkansas. 
The breakfast, which was good, was administered by the very handsome young 
ladies of the village and much relished by all of the party. The upland soil of 
Lawrence county is said to be well adapted to the growth of fruit and the cereals. 
The timber on the highlands consists of oak, ash, hickory and persimmon. This 
county abounds in rich mines of lead and zinc, which offer splendid opportunities 
for capitahsts to invest in mining enterprises. 

We arrived at Newport about 10 o'clock a. m,, when the train halted, and we 
had an opportunity to inspect a large quantity of baled cotton ready for ship- 
ping. Newport is in Jackson county, on the White river, where the surface of 
the country is very level and covered with heavy timber. Some of the land in 
this county has been cultivated for the last fifty years and still produces excellent 
crops of cotton and corn. 

We passed through Judsonia about one o'clock p. m., and here found quite a 
thi-iving and enterprising village. Judsonia, in White county, is 53 miles north- 
west of Little Rock, and is noted for moral proclivities, there not being a saloon in 
the place. Judson University, under Baptist control, is located here, and is one 
of the leading institutions of learning in the State. It was chartered in 1871, 
and under the guidance of the Rev. Benj. Thomas, assisted by an able corps of 
teachers, is maldng its power felt throughout the land. White county has 26 
school-houses, 78 churches and nine post-offices. The land in this county is 
somewhat "undulating and covered with timber. The soil is said to be very 
fertile ; aside from cotton, oats is the principal crop. 

The Searcy Sulphur Springs, which are situated in White county, have gained 
considerable reputation as a watering-place. After leaving Judsonia we passed 
through several small towns and many large fields of cotton and corn. Just as 
we were crossing the waters of the Arkansas, our ears were greeted with the 
sweet strains of music, and we were at once drawn up to the depot at the city of 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 95 

Little Rock, where we found ourselves in the presence of a silver cornet band 
and several thousand people of the city and adjacent country. After extending 
to our party a most cordial greeting, the citizens in\dted us to seats in carriages, 
which they had in waiting, and drove us to theii* various residences, where we 
were entertained in the most complimentary style. Thanks to Lieut. Morrison, 
of the 16th U. S. Infantry, Thomas Lafferty, a prosperous merchant of the city, 
Mrs. Polk, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Augspath and Mrs. Capt. Cenradt for their Idnd 
hospitality and many acts of disinterested kindness by which our sojourn in their 
beautiful city was made pleasant and agreeable. 

After dinner we were shown through the city and saw on exhibition some of 
the finest specimens of vegetables and cereals we have ever seen in any State, 
one cucumber alone weighing 57 pounds, while their pomological display was 
not only good but grand. The extensive reading-room which T. B. Mills & Co. 
have in connection with the Spirit of Arkansas^ is an enterprise of which the 
citizens should and do feel proud. About three months ago this enterprising 
firm commenced to fit up a public reading-room which already boasts of over 
800 papers on file. On entering we called for the Enterimse^ of Sheldon, Illinois, 
which was almost immediately laid upon the table before us. At night a public 
reception and banquet was given our party at Concordia Hall, where the best of 
music was provided, and every delicacy of the season spread before us. After the 
banquet came the speech of welcome by Gen. Robert C. Newton, and thrilHng 
responses to a number of truly loyal and patriotic toasts. Men of every political 
complexion met us at Concordia Hall that night, and under the folds of five 
flags, each covered with stripes and stars, emblems of American liberty and 
independence, all alike expressed an abiding faith in our good government and 
the perpetuity of the unity of States. Scenes like this could not last always, 
and at 12 o'clock, midnight, we again boarded the train and proceeded south- 
ward. Little Rock is the capital of the State and the county seat of Pulaski 
county. It is situated on an elevated bluff" on the south bank of the Ai'kansas 
river, and surrounded by a country considerably broken and covered with timber, 
save where the industrious farmer has carved out extensive farms. Being situ- 
ated at such an elevation, it is naturally freed from those local diseases which 
attach to so many cities built upon low ground. It has a good health record. 
It contains a population of about 20,000, a large number of business houses, 
some of which do a wholesale business, several newspapers and several large 
manufacturing institutions. The county of Pulaski has a population of 40,000, 
no bonded debt, 33 school-houses and 60 churches. The uplands are well 
adapted to fruit culture, while the lowlands are exceedingly fertile, and produce 
a bale of cotton or from 50 to 75 bushels of corn per acre. 

Early on Thursday morning the party was aroused from a quiet slumber by 
the voice of Gen. Pierce, announcing that we had arrived at Malvern, and that 
breakfast was in waiting. The sleepers were soon deserted, and breakfast eaten 
with relish. At nine o'clock we boarded a train on the narrow-gauge road leading 
from Malvern in the direction of Hot Springs, to which point it will be completed 
within a few weeks. The ride given us over the nine miles already constructed 



96 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

was a delightful one. On either side were immense hills covered with the noble 
pine,, and between these hills were seen occasional fields of corn which would rival 
that raised on our best Ilhnois soil. 

On arri^sdng at the present terminus of the road we found a delegation of citi- 
zens of Hot Springs in waiting, with conveyances to take us to Plot Springs. It 
would be folly to attempt a description of our journey thence to these celebrated 
springs ; it will suffice our purpose to say that after a three hours' ride through 
dust and heat, over streams and mountains, through densely timbered lands and 
over bottoms covered with a rich acreage of corn and cotton, we arrived safely 
at this haven of health about one o'clock, where we were assigned to well- 
appointed hotels and fed and cared for in the most complimentary style. Hot 
Springs is situated in a valley" of a spur of the Ozark mountains, 55 miles 
southwest of Little Rock, has a permanent population of about 3,000, with an 
average of about 2,000 visitors. The springs, which are the wonder of the 
world, are 54 in number, and are situated on the slope of the mountains, 
from 50 to 100 feet above the level of the valley. The temperature of the 
water of these springs varies from 90 to 160 deg. Fahrenheit, and they are sought 
by people from all parts of the globe as a cure for almost every form of disease 
which flesh is heu- to. "We rode on their street railroad and bathed in their 
health-giving waters that afternoon, and at night were publicly received at the 
hall of the Arlington Hotel. Here a reception address was delivered by Col. J. 
M. Harrell, editor of the Daily Telegraph, in wliich the speaker welcomed their 
guests from the North in eloquent language and a most cordial manner. After 
a few appropriate remarks by Gen. Pierce in behalf of the excursionists, a band 
of music was introduced, the hall cleared, and with the beautiful and attractive 
Southern ladies present, this band of pilgrims tripped the light fantastic till they 
were warned that the light of Friday morning was fast approaching ; and even 
then some retired with seeming reluctance. Hot Springs has some of the best 
hotels in the State, a large number of business houses, two very enterprising 
daily newspapers, and a hospitable and intelligent class of citizens. It is destined 
soon to be the most noted watering-place in the world. We left Hot Springs 
early Friday morning, and arrived at Malvern about noon. A little incident 
which happened on our stage route, though painful in its details, may be of 
interest to those of our readers who have resided in a hiUy country. When 
descending the slope of a hill, several hundred feet in length, the brakes attached 
to one of the stages gave way, allowing the stage, with its precious load, to 
rus] wildly upon the horses. The consequence was a runaway down the slope, 
past a dozen other stages. Through this exciting scene we were glad to note 
that the" driver remained cool, and with a steady hand guided his frightened 
team past aU preceding stages, without injury to any one of the party. We 
regret, however, that in order to save human life he was compelled to sacrifice the 
life of a horse. The poor animal was guided between the wheels of a stage and a 
fence, where he was so badly crippled that it was thought best to at once put an 
end to his sufi'erings. We arrived at Ai'kadelphia, 65 miles southwest of Little 
Rock, about three o'clock p.m. , where we were met at the depot by a large number 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 97 

of intelligent-looking people, who at once invited us to a grove a short distance 
away, where a barbecue dinner had been served up and awaited our coming. 
This novel feature of the excursion was much relished by the party, who mani- 
fested their appreciation of this liberal hospitality by stowing away large morsels 
of beef and venison. On that afternoon we visited some of those extensive planta- 
tions of cotton which abound in the fertile valley of Washita, and were satisfied 
that enterprise and capital alone were needed to make this one of the most pros- 
perous valleys of the Southwest. At night speeches of welcome were delivered, 
and much patriotic sentiment expressed. The people of Ai-kadelphia express 
themselves as well satisfied with the results, of the late war, and begged ns to 
inform Northern people who wished to change their location, that they will 
receive a cordial welcome in the Washita valley. Arkadelphia, which is the 
county seat of Clark county, has about 1,500 inhabitants, and is a beautiful little 
city. When the resources of Clark county are developed, it is destined to become 
one of the leading cities of Southern Arkansas. 

On Saturday morning we again found ourselves at Little Rock, where, after 
breakfasting, our party divided, a portion joiirneying to the West on the' Fort 
Smith Railroad, while the remainder chose to travel to the East, and partook of 
the hospitality of the officers of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. On - 
approaching Lonoke we saw the first prairie which we had beheld since we 
entered the State, and as most of our party were residents of prairie districts 
they were delighted with the change of scenery. For 40 or 50 miles the vision 
was greeted mth enchanting prairies encompassed by a beautiful skirting of 
timber. We saw some good farms on these prairies, but learned from people 
residing there that they were not so productive as the timbered lands. We 
noticed, however, that these prairies were covered with a heavy crop of natural 
grasses, and were informed that farmers were securing from two to three tons of 
hay per acre. Lonoke is the seat of Lonoke College, with its seven professors 
and 150 students. 

Passing through Carlisle and Duvall's Bluff, we arrived at Forrest City at three 
o'clock p. M., where we v/ere again received by a delegation of citizens, and wel- 
comed by their young Mayor in a short but eloquent address. A dinner, gener- 
ously pro^dded by the citizens, was next disposed of, after which we were 
conducted thi'ough the city, and were even permitted to look at some of their 
adjacent cotton plantations. Forrest City, in St. Francis county, is situated 45 
miles west of Memphis, on the St. Francis river, near the notable Crowley's 
Ridge. It has a population of about 2,000, and is surrounded by a fertile body 
of farming land. We can truthfully say that we have never seen a better pomo- 
Ipgical display, in small collections, than was exhibited at points along the line 
of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. One Duchess pear weighed two and a 
quarter pounds, and apples in several instances weighing 23 ounces each were 
exhibited. 

We returned to Little Rock at midnight, joined the party that had just returned 
from their trip on the Fort Smith road, and together we started for St. Louis, 
where we arrived at seven o'clock p. m. Sunday, October 3d. Here our party 
7 



98 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS, 

disbanded and started for their respective homes, bearing with them most kindly 
feelings for Col. J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills & Co., who inaugurated 
the excursion, as well as for the generous people of the State of Ai'kansas 
who contributed their kind hospitality to make our sojourn in the State a- 
pleasant one. And while we do not wish to ad^dse any one to leave Iroquois 
count}^, yet we do believe that Arkansas to-day presents to those desuing 
homes a field where industry and enterprise will be amply rewarded. The State, 
as far as our observation extended, was in a quiet condition, and life and 
property appeared to be as secure there as in Illinois, All the citizens asked 
of us was to send Northern men among them to till their broad acres of uncul- 
tivated soil, develop thek vast mineral resources, build up manufactories, etc., 
and promised them a cordial reception and liberal treatment. Arkansas may 
not produce as much corn or oats per acre as Illinois ; she may not produce 
more wheat or barley, yet we were informed that nearly every year brought 
fau' crops of all kinds of cereals, and with her corn, oats, wheat, cotton, etc.,. 
she will average well with any other State. 



From the "CENTRALIA DEMOCRAT.' 



S. p. TUFTS, Editor. 



In response to a very courteous invitation from J. M. Loughborough, Land 
Commissioner of the great St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Eailroad, and 
T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, we, in company with many other knights of 
the quill, took seats in the specially provided Pullman j5alace cars of the Iron 
Mountain Railway on Tuesday night, September 28th, for a " bum" in Arkansas. 

PERSONAL. 

Too much cannot be written in praise of Hon. Thos. Allen, President of the 
road; of J. M. Loughborough, T. B. Mills & Co., and G. W. Hered, of the 
Land Department ; of Hon. Logan H. Roots, of Little Rock (to whom we were 
person^.Uy indebted for many courtesies) ; of John Bartholomew, Superintendent, 
and John J, Gilliss, Passenger Agent of the El Paso Stage Company, Hot 
Springs ; of W". D. Slack, Land Commissioner, and Theo, Hartman, General 
Superintendent of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, for their extraordinary 
attention at all times to the excursionists. 

THE IRON MOUNTAIN ROUTE. 

This route to Little Rock runs through a very valuable timbered country, well 
watered and admirably adapted to every featui'e of agriculture. "VVe have not,. 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 99 

since the war, passed through a country that offered such abundant and varied 
rewards to the hands of labor. Untold wealth slumbers on and in a soil aching 
to have its beautiful and smiling surface interrupted by the settler's ax, mechanic 
arts and agricultural appliances. The lands belonging to this route exceed 
1,500,000 acres, and lay in a strip thirty miles wide, running diagonally across 
the State of Ai'kansas. On this route, from Moark to Ai'kadelphia — the terminal 
Southern point of our trip — we traveled along and crossed and recrossed many 
large and small streams of water, clearly showing that in this especially desirable 
particular the lands were unusually well watered, and therefore advantageously 
productive and healthy, except in excessively wet seasons, wherein all countries 
alike suffer. 

We have the inclination but not the space for details. These may be obtained 
in truth and abundance upon application to either of the gentlemen personally 
named above, and especially T. B. Mills & Co., Little Rock, The timber lands 
of Arkansas must, ere many years, become very valuable for their timber alone. 
The remarkable variety, quality and size of the trees, so near to the great markets 
of the West and South, cannot fail to make these lands attractive and valuable. 
The soil for all cereal and vegetable productions is also very fertile, except for 
grasses. In the latter we found this route generally deficient, and not much 
attention paid heretofore to their cultivation, probably because it has been and 
is the cvistom to chiefly raise cotton. In fact, the farmers of Arkansas have 
cotton on the brain — a disease more damaging to the development of the State 
than most of her people are wilUng to concede by practice. 

LITTLE ROCK." 

This city is beautifully located on high, rolling ground, and is the natural 
center for a large field of enterprise and trade ; its population is estimated at from 
15,000 to 20,000. Its present peace, general and unpartisan hospitality, com- 
bined with a renewed vigor and push, together with the introduction of manu- 
facturing capital and ingenuity, mil ere long shake it up and roll it on to a 
population of 50,000, and in time to 100,000. The citizens of Little Rock, 
irrespective of party, opened their doors to our excursion party with a generous 
and brilliant reception, and a marked and much applauded sentiment of welcome 
and kind regard for Northern people generally, expressed in unreserved terms 
by each speaker of all parties, publicly, and in private conversation at a most 
elegant and sumptuously prepared banquet given in honor of their Northern 
visitors. In a quiet way* we discovered, from observation and conversation, an 
CA^dent desu-e for peace and harmony* in the future, a general satisfaction with 
the administration of Gov. Garland, and an overweening anxiety for the immi- 
gration of people of all classes from the North, East and West, with or without 
capital, who may be wilhng to aid with their labor and accomplishments in 
developing the rich and varied resources of wealth now inviting the emigrant. 

HOT SPRINGS. 

We were agreeably surprised at the substantial appearance of the hotels, busi- 
ness houses and private residences at this noted watering-place, remarkable for 



100 THE NEW ARKANSAS TEAYELEBS. 

its cures. Business activity and enterprise seemed to fill the serpentine valley 
in wMch this attractive and delightful city is located. The heahng virtues of the 
many springs, hot and cold combined, are rapidly securing a well-deserved 
world-wide notoriety. 

The welcome extended to our party by the citizens of Hot Springs was of 
that genuine and appreciative character that marks a generous and enterprising 
people. No pains were spared to make our visit pleasant. The proprietors of 
hotels, stage and coach lines, liverj^ stables, newspapers, etc., etc. vied with 
each other in extending to us a gratifying welcome. We do not forget the 
courtesies of the Hot Springs Eailroad, which is being pushed forward with 
energy. We were conveyed to the end of the line, eight miles, on flat cars, pre- 
pared especially for the trip, then staged it twelve miles to the Springs. We 
should judge from the apparent progress that the railroad would be finished to 
Hot Springs by, if not before, the first of January next. When the railroad is 
completed this beautiful little city, nesthng between most wonderful mountains, 
with rocky, porous bases and sloping sides, pouring forth their bubbhng, healing 
waters, all crowned with evergreens and ragged, pictm^esqu.e summit edges, wiU 
attract the traveler in search of health ; the business man, mineralogist, geolo- 
gist, and sight-seers generally, until the city of Hot Springs will count its 
population by tens of thousands, and the good people there be made glad with 
the rich notes of progress. 

We traveled many hundred miles along the raiboads in Arkansas, stopping at 
many places on the route, where an opportunity was given us to exchange 
views with the people and arrive at their sentiments in reference to Northern 
people. Northern intelhgence aiid Northern ways, social and political. From 
these private talks and the general manner of the people indiscriminately, we 
unhesitatingly state our belief that there is as much protection, legal and social, 
for strangers from anywhere, as hearty and genuine a welcome, as cheerful a 
God-speed in Ai-kansas from its citizens generally, as is to be found in any other 
State in the Union. The people of Arkansas have been sorely punished. Where 
the responsibility for the internal difficulties of the past belongs, matters not now. 
We saw on the Arkansan's body, in his face and that of his family, the unerring 
sions of an impoverished people ; intestine strife and cotton crop failures were 
the causes. To a large degree the crop of the present ye.ar has been cultivated 
and harvested on scanty allowances. Thank God, it is one of the most abundant 
and varied crops the State has ever known. The destitution of the people has 
been the great moving power that has broken their •affection for cotton and 
developed the wonderful excellencies of the soil, climate and seasons of Arkansas 
for the other great staples — corn, wheat, oats, millet, and all varieties of fruits 
and vegetables, many of the latter producing two crops. In some localities 
we were assured that potatoes would mature planted immediately after wheat 
harvest. However, Arkansas must be seen to be appreciated. 

THE OUACHITA. 

Sufficient time was not permitted us to see the rich and finely watered country 
through which this stream runs. Excepting the Eed river country in Arkansas, 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 101 

the valley of the Ouachita contains the best cotton and corn lands in the State, 
and the uplands are spoken of as very fine for cereals, vegetables and fruits. 
We were informed hy an intelligent farmer residing near Arkadelphia that raising 
cotton was the great drawback to the country ; that it was more profitable to 
introduce new farming implements, suited to the production of the various 
grains and vegetables, and give cotton the go-by ; but cotton always ha^dng been 
the staple cyop, it was hard to wean the people away from it. He hoped North- 
ern emigrants that knew nothing about cotton would come into their country 
with their new ideas and new methods of agriculture, that the natives might learn 
by comparidons. We believe that an Illiupis corn or wheat farmer would raise 
an average of 75 bushels of corn and 30 bushels of wheat to the acre on the 
same land for ten continuous years, on the bottom lands of the Ouachita that 
came under our observation. 

LITTLE ROCK & FORT SMITH RAILROAD. 

On our return to Little Rock from Hot Springs our party divided by choice, 
part going over the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad to Fort Fisher, and the 
remainder going over the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad to its present ter- 
minus, a few miles beyond Clarksville, a distance of some 106 miles ; we were 
with the latter party and write the result of our observations. This road runs 
along the fertile valley of the Arkansas river and has the usual alternate section 
land grant for mUes each side of the railroad. Judging from the productions of 
this valley as seen at the various stations, comprising cotton, corn, wheat, oats, 
millet, tobacco, vegetables and fruits, the soil must be very rich and productive. 
All we learned of the cultivation of the soil leads us to the conclusion that it is 
far from thorough. This soil produces with present culture from 40 to 60 
bushels of corn per acre, 25 bushels of white wheat, three-quarters of a bale of 
cotton, from three to four tons of millet, and in this ratio for all crops ; vegeta- 
bles and fruits in abundance. These lands are cheap, ranging from $2.50 to 
$20 per acre, owing to the location. The climate, we were informed, was very 
healthy, and how so watered and undulating a country could be otherwise 
we fail to see. Timber is abundant, in great variety and of the best quahty. 
One gentleman told us that he enumerated fifteen varieties on one 40-acre 
tract. The people on this line of road, as elsewhere in the State, are anxious 
to welcome the emigrant ; their latch-strings hang out, and we have no doubt 
of the genuineness of their proffered hospitality. 

IN GENERAL. 

What we have said in relation to this State has been derived from the 
impressions made upon us during our trip. The details of how we were 
feasted and the perfectness of. the ovations at all points visited while in the 
State, has of course made a lasting impression, but being personal to us, it is 
of but httle consequence to our readers, only as an index of the character of 
the people among whom we were sojourning. Our object has been to give 
our readers a brief idea of Ai-kansas and its hospitable people. We have 



102 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERSo 

been brief because we did not wish to oA'"erdo or be tiresome. If there are 
any of our readers who have made up their minds to emigrate Southward, we 
would advise them to not pass carelessly over the advantages and inducements 
held out by the citizens of Arkansas. 



FROM THE " CARLINVILLE ENQUIRER." 



MILTON McCLUEE, Editor. 



Not long since Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and T. B. Mills & Co., dealers in real estate 
at Little Rock, extended an invitation to some three hundred leading papers to 
send a representative on an excursion through Ai'kansas. The object of the 
excursion was that the representatives of the press could see for themselves 
something of the country, its resources, etc. Accepting the invitation of the 
Enquirer to represent it on the trip, I left Carlinville on the morning of the 
28th of September for St. Louis, from which point the excm-sion was to 
start. At nine p. m. on that day the train, consisting of four Pullman sleep- 
ers, a day car and baggage car, pulled out, and we were not only wooed to the 
land of Morpheus, but the wheels revolved at the rate of 25 miles an hour, 
keeping up a fine accompaniment to the unearthly snoring of the representative 
of the Chicago Standard. On past Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob we were 
whMed, and stopped for breakfast at Walnut Ridge, having made 225 miles 
since starting. At Newport we crossed White river, and at one o'clock we 
reached Judsonia, where an American flag was fastened to three bales of cot- 
ton, and a banner displayed bearing the inscription : ' ' The pen is mightier than 
the sword. Editors, you are welcome." 

At 3.30 p. M. we reached Little Rock. Bands of music and crowds of citizens 
greeted us, and we were quartered upon various inhabitants of the place — it 
being my good fortune to find quarters at the elegant residence of Mr. Dodge, 
Centennial Commissioner of the State, and a prominent attorney. We were 
diiven over the city, and all the various points of interest pointed out to us. We 
were welcomed at the Chamber of Commerce, where there was a fine display of 
the products of the country, not the least of which was a cucumber weighing 57 
pounds ; but they don't all grow that large, as this was a sort of family cucum- 
ber. There were fine specimens of cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, grapes, 
vegetables, etc., while the display of fruit was excellent. At nine p. m. the citizens 
gave their guests a grand complimentary banquet, which, with the dance, lasted 
until the wee sma' hours. We all retked to our berths at the sleeping cars, and 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 103 

some time during the early morning hours, while enjoying a season of somnolence, 
we were carried 43 miles to Malvern, where we found an excellent breakfast 
awaiting us. 

Malvern is the point where travelers diverge to go to Hot Springs. A narrow- 
gauge railroad is being built between the two places, but upon our visit only 
eight miles were completed ; at the end of this we were met by hacks, stage- 
coaches and carriages and taken to the Springs, a distance of about fourteen 
miles. We arrived at the Springs at three p. m., and were duly assigned to 
different hotels, it being my excellent fortune to be taken to the "Arlington," 
the leading hotel in the city, and here a grand banquet and reception was given 
us in the evening. Hot Springs contains about 4,000 inhabitants. The popula- 
tion has doubled within two years. The town is nestled among the hills, which 
rise to the height of near 600 feet. There is a horse railroad one and three- 
quarter miles long, which traverses the principal street in the valley. Houses 
extend some two and a half miles up and down the valley. Some 15,000 to 
20,000 visitors come to Hot Springs a year, a large number of them sick people. 
There are some fifteen or twenty physicians, some of them eminent practitioners. 
The waters are valuable for skin diseases, paralysis, rheumatism, neuralgia, gout, 
etc. Wonderful cures are continually reported, and from what we heard and 
saw we beheve the accounts are not exaggerated. The springs, some fifty-seven 
in number, range in temperature from 90 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Those 
troubled with dropsy and diseases of the lungs, heart and brain cannot expect 
relief. 

Board, for invalids or those who are not, can be obtained at prices ranging 
from six to twenty-five dollars per week — according to the amount a man pos- 
sesses and the amount of style he wishes to put on. The principles of charity 
have obtained to a reasonable degree, and quite a number of springs are inclosed 
for the especial benefit of the poor, where they can bathe without money and 
without price. 

From Malvern we proceeded twenty-two miles to Arkadelphia, the county 
seat of Clark county. Here a novelty awaited us, the citizens having provided a 
barbecue. They had roasted parts of three beeves, six sheep and four or five 
shoats, with sweet potatoes and 500 pounds of flour baked into bread. A long 
table was arranged in a grove, and the solid food was eaten with a rehsh. After 
this a large number of the citizens joined the excursionists and visited the cotton- 
fields a few miles below. It was six o'clock, and the time to see the negroes 
carrying their baskets of cotton to the cotton pens, to be weighed. Negroes 
earn 75 cents per 100 pounds picking cotton, .and board themselves, or 50 cents 
per hundred including their board and lodging. They pick from 100 to 400 
pounds per day. Cotton yields from a bale to a bale and a half per acre, and 
is worth from $60 to ^75 per bale. To many of us it was the first time we had 
rambled in a cotton-field. The black lands are rich in this section, and very pro- 
ductive in corn as well as cotton ; fruits grow abundantly, grapes as fine as in 
Switzerland. Vegetables, the sweet and Irish potatoes, grow to an immense 
size. In the evening a pubhc reception was given us at the Reames House, 



104 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

where the usual round of speaking, &g. , was gone through. We returned ta 
our sleeping coaches and on Saturday morning were again at Little Rock, and 
reached St. Louis in time to make home on Monday morning. 

The soil, as already indicated, in the country visited is very productive. All 
the smaller grains grow well, while crops of cotton are splendid. Fruits jdeld 
weU, and there are vast opportunities for the making of fortunes. The people 
are tired of strife, and want peace and emigration, that their State may be 
developed. Land can be had cheap, and I see no reason why Iowa, Nebraska, 
Kansas or Texas should be preferred to this country. It is a fine country, and 
all that is wanted is energy, enterprise and industry to develop it. 



From the "AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL," CHICAGO. 



THOMAS S. NEWMAN, Editok. 



There is, perh-aps, no territory of equal proportions to that known as "the 
South" that is blessed with so many natural advantages, and that has so many 
possibilities of material prosperity. We have, in common with many apicultur- 
ists of this country, often thought that grand and profitable results of bee-keep- 
ing would be reached in that section of country as soon as its true value became 
known and the prejudices of former education had been overcome. 

Having received an invitation from the Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Com- 
missioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, at Little Rock, 
and Col. T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, pubhshers of the Spirit of Arkansas ^ 
to accompany an editorial excursion through the State of Ai-kansas, for the pur- 
pose of seeing with our own eyes things as they were, and of conversing with its 
people at their homes, the pubhsher of the American Bee Journal accepted, and 
started on Monday, Sept. 27, for St. Louis, to join the party. 

On Tuesday, at nine p. m., a special train started for the Sunny South with 150 
excursionists, representing that many of the leading papers of the Northwest. 
The train consisted of a powerful engine trimmed with flags, four Pullman palace 
sleeping ears, one day car, etc., all belonging to the 'Iron Mountain Railroad. 

After passing Moark we came to Judsonia, where a Baptist university is 
located. It is under the charge of the Rev. B. Thomas, M. A., and gives 
thorough instruction in all the useful branches of learning. 

Arriving at Little Rock, the capital of the State, at 2:30 p. m. the next 
day, we enjoyed the hospitalities of Col. Thomas Lafl'erty, a whole-souled and 
successful dry goods merchant of that city. Here we met unexpectedly our old 



ILLINOIS COJfRESPONDENCE. 105 

friend Judson Austin, Esq., whose pleasant face and mature counsels cheered 
and smoothed our pathway fifteen years ago. We also made the pleasant 
acquaintance of scores of other gentlemen and ladies, only a few of whom we 
can now mention in particular for want of space. Chief among these was Gen. 
H. A. Pierce, who accompanied the excursion over the State, and made one of 
the pleasantest companions we ever had the pleasure of meeting. By the way, 
the General is interested in apiculture, and intends to enter more largely into 
the business next spring. He says that he knows of no place in the world that 
is so favorable to bee-keeping as Arkansas. It abounds with bloom from early 
in March till December ; bees need never be removed from their summer stands, 
and prosper abundantly with but very little attention. He says that if Northern 
bee-keepeys would come down there with thek scientific and practical knowledge,- 
they would do vastly more than " astonish the natives." The General introduced 
us to several other bee-men, and we enjoyed a pleasant chat with them. 

In the evening the citizens of Little Rock got up a magnificent complimentary 
banquet at Concordia Hall, which was decorated with fiags on all sides, as well 
as mottoes of welcome. The tables were loaded with delicacies and choice 
viands, and ornamented with splendid bouquets provided by the ladies. This 
was one of the largest and grandest banquets ever given in that city. 

The guests were all Northern men, but a more cordial reception could not be 
given to them anywhere in the world. We were especially pleased at the marked 
demonstrations of the fact that the "late unpleasantness" was over, that the bone 
of contention was buried, that all accepted the situation, and that now a North- 
erner was as welcome and just as safe there as in any town or city on the continent. 

Speeches and toasts followed. We have no room to report them, but will say 
that the address of welcome was delivered by Gen. R. C. Newton in an earnest 
speech. He referred to the button-hole bouquets with which the tables were so 
beautifully decorated, and which the guests were not slow to appropriate. He 
then remarked that he was pleased to have -eye-witnesses in the State, that the 
people might be seen as they are — that their manners, habits, etc. , might be 
observed. He wanted the visitors to come often, and come at last to stay. It 
pleased him to know that we had an opportunity to see the State "and the pro- 
ducts and the people. The Northwest and the Southwest were now just becom- 
ing known to each other, and he was glad to see it, and hoped it would be con- 
tinued. The State had been built up by nature as an invitation for pluck, 
capital and enterprise, and he would say : Come and see us, come ; and bring 
"Yankee Doodle," and "Live and die in Dixie." 

After the banquet the party left for Malvern, where we breakfasted, and then 
went on to the celebrated Hot Springs, where another ovation occurred. The 
citizens' committee met the party at the terminus, of the narrow-gauge railroad, 
over eight miles of which we passed, and escorted us to Hot Springs, where every 
attention and comfort was afforded us, and in the evening there was a grand 
reception ball at the Arlington House. 

Here invahds come by hundreds to partake of the invigorating quahties of 
these "waters of life." Hot Springs has about 4,000 inhabitants, and is a lively 



106 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

and fashionable resort. We visited Arkadelphia, and participated in a barbecue 
provided by the citizens, and then took a trip towards Texarkana. The train 
halted in a cotton-field, where pickers were busy gathering the crop. Many of 
our party left the cars and conversed with the colored pickers, and inspected, 
for the first time, one of the cotton-fields of the South. 

We then returned to Little Rock, breakfasted, and then the party divided at 
its own pleasure. A portion, as guests of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, 
went eastward to see the country between the Arkansas and IMississippi rivers, and 
the other part, as guests of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Raihoad, went west to 
visit the Arkansas coal-fields, which are being newly developed there ; of these 
fields there are several, chief of which is the celebrated mine of the ' ' Ouita Coal 
Company," our friend Thomas Lafferty, of Little Rock, being the managing 
director. He accompanied the excursion, and took the party through the mine. 

We "went west," and were treated like a prince. Theo. Hartman, Esq., 
General Superintendent of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad, took charge 
of the party, and no man could do more to make it pleasant and agreeable. 
Under the able management of such a superintendent, that railroad must prosper 
and become a power in the land. At every station the inhabitants were out in 
numbers, exhibiting the fruits of the soil, and tempting us with choice viands. 
At one of these stopping-places we saw a cucumber weighing 64 pounds, and 
measuring 13 by 28 inches ; at another, corn 14 feet high ; at another, prairie 
grasses seven feet high, and wheat and oats of large size ; at another, stocks of 
Japanese peas that had produced 200 bushels to the acre. But space and time 
would fail us to speak of all we saw. Our advice to aU seeMng good bee locations 
is to go down and see for themselves, and then act on their best convictions. 

At Little Rock the party again united, and all flew on the rails of comfort, in 
elegant palace cars, back to St. Louis, having enjoyed the pleasure of an excur- 
sion of five days, loaded with pleasant memories, and freighted with incidents 
and facts about a country which is destined to become one of the best, most 
congenial and profitable on this continent. 

In the language of another, we would say: "The climate of the State, her 
immunity from cyclones, grasshoppers and other pests, the regularity of her 
seasons, show the adaptation of the State to agriculture. Then the advantages 
ofi'ered to manufacturing enterprise is palpable, with such forests and coal-fields, 
and raw material of every variety. The mineral wealth of the State is of such a 
character, and crops out so plainly, that the learning of the geologist may be 
almost dispensed with for practical purposes The State government, if not 
all that could be desired, will certainly compare favorably with any other in 
the Union." 

The party passed a vote of thanks to the railroads, and to Col. lioughborough, 
the indefatigable and earnest Land Commissioner, as well as to T. B. MUls & 
Co., editors of the Spirit of Arkansas^ at Little Rock, and to many others ; but 
want of space forbids the details. At St. Louis the party separated and repaired 
, to their respective homes and fields of labor, to tell their readers wnat they had 
seen and heard. 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 107 



FROM THE "DECATUR TRIBUNE. 



S. S. JACK, Co-respondent. 



The "situation" in Arkansas has been brought prominently before the people 
of the country in some of its many different phases frequently for the past two 
or three years. Indeed, so much has been written and said, so many theories, 
opinions and statements of facts have been advanced, that the world at large, 
and even the people of Arkansas, hardly understand it. Lately a truce has been 
agreed upon, and all classes have united to advance the material prosperity of 
the State. "Whether this results from the fact that it was becoming unhealthy 
for political thievery, carpet-bagging and braggartism, or that there was simply 
nothing more to steal, and necessity compelled the truce, we will not attempt to 
say. Enough it is to know that peace reigns in the State, and that its motto, 
'■'•Regnant Popidi," is a verity. 

In order to give to the world a better knowledge of the resources of the State 
of Arkansas, and the feelings and desu'es of its people, and, of course, to adver- 
tise the State and its lands, which is all legitimate, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 
and Southern Railroad, through theu' Land Commissioner, Hon. J. M. Lough- 
borough, and the land agency of T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, through 
their representative, T. B. Mills, organized an excursion for the representatives 
of the press of the Northwest, from St. Louis to Texarkana, on the Texas hne, 
and from Little Rock to the eastern and western boundaries of the State. This 
invitation was accepted by about one hundred, who left St. Louis in a train of 
four Pullman cars on the Iron Mountain Raih'oad, on Tuesday evening, Sept. 
20th. The party hailed from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, 
lUinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, besides one or two from "the 
Lord knows whither." The party being orderly creatures, and disposed to 
fortify themselves for "the work of the week" (we were to enjoy the hospitali- 
ties of the good people of the towns in which we stopped), soon had " Thomas" 
and the other men and brethren prepare the beds. 

We had a good breakfast in the woods at Walnut Ridge, where the gentlemen 
of the party had the opportunity to amuse themselves by feeding, stirring up 
and looldng at a huge black bear. The amusement was safe and innocent. The 
bear was tied with a chain. From thence we were hurried along through the 
heavily timbered lands that line the railway, over several beautiful streams, and 
through or near to a cypress swamp or two, stopping here and there at various 
stations to look at what was to be seen, till about one p. m. on Wednesday, when 
we arrived at Little Rock, the capital and chief city of the State of Arkansas. 
At the depot we were met with carriages by the good people of the city to whom 



108 THE NEW ARKANSS TRAVELERS. 

we had been assigned, who did the generous in a way you may sometimes hear 
tell of in Decatur, as being of the good old times, but which has not been seen 
for "lo, these many years," The afternoon was spent in visiting the various 
points of interest about the city, and the growing, blooming and ripening cotton 
of the rich bottoms of the Arkansas river. 

In the evening a rich banquet awaited the strangers and invited guests. There 
were boils, roasts, fries, reUshes, pastries, jelhes, fruits and beverages, the latter 
consisting of French coffee, tea, sweet milk, iced tea and massacree. The latter 
was in bottles, and the corks of some of them popped when they came out. Then 
there were toasts, regular and volunteer ; responses, studied and unpromptu ; 
there were hearty welcomes and expressions of generous good feeling ; there 
were sparkles of wit and sleepy platitudes, and of the latter the visitors bore 
away the palm. 

To bed at two a. m. , and while seeldng rest were taken south 45 miles to Mal- 
vcrne, where, after breakfast, we took extemporized seats on flats of the Hot 
Springs narrow-gauge road, for Hot Springs. Only about eight miles of this 
road are completed. At the end we took coaches, hacks and wagons, for Hot 
Springs, 18 miles. Some of the vehicles were not the best; the horses were 
not all richly caparisoned ; it was a little warm ; the roads were a little dusty, 
and a little hilly, and a little stony, and a little gullied, and there was now and 
then a fallen tree in the way, but we had the best that was to be had anywhere 
in all that country, and we all enjoyed it. Then we were, after five hours' riding, 
tired, but then at the end we had a bath awaiting us in the warm, healing waters 
of Hot Springs, a dinner and supper that would grace a table in any land, and an 
opportunity to dance till morn with the fair ladies of the place — two hops being, 
given in our honor, one at the Arhngtoh, the other at the Hot Springs Hotel. 
Here, too, we had the inevitable toasts and speeches. Well, they are a good 
thing — at. times. 

We returned to Malvern on Friday morning. We all had quite a scare on the 
way, from a runaway not arranged for in the programme. The brake attached 
to one of the large Concord coaches gave way on a long, steep hill-side, and the 
four-horse team was soon beyond the control of the driver. ' Matters looked 
very serious for a few minutes, but were soon ended by the leaders attempting 
to pass another coach, one on each side. This resulted in one of them getting a 
foot in a wheel, and a broken leg, which caused a sudden stop without any other 
serious damage. A friendly bullet soon put an end to the sufferings of the poor 
brute. The remainder of the trip to Malvern, and from that to Arkadelphia, was 
without incident. At the latter place a barbecue awaited us. Plenty of beef 
and bread and pickles and water, and to spare. In the evening we had resolu- 
tions and speeches. After going a few miles further south to see the rich 
bottom-lands and cotton-fields, we decided to return to Little Rock. Here the 
party divided — a part going west in the direction of Fort Smith, a part east on 
the Memphis and Little Rock Railway, and still others remained in the city. 
After the day spent in sight-seeing we all met again on the train, and were 
soon homeward bound. Nothing worthy of special mention happened on the 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. 109 

^ay back. The points of most interest were Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain, of 
whieli you have all read and know. Our train arrived in St. Louis just too late 
for some of the out-going trains, which, we think, might have been avoided. 
All were pleased with the trip, the courtesies of the managers of the excursion, 
and the hospitahties of the people. 

Now, as to our impressions from our trip. We thinlc that the many stories 
about life and property being unsafe are much exaggerated. Any one going 
into the State for any other purpose than "foraging" will be made welcome. 
The political trcTibles seeiu to be in a great measure settled. They are some- 
what in financial straits, but are wiUing to scale down and refund the scrip and 
bonds that were issued and sold at such ruinously low rates, allowing a good 
round profit to the holders. 

The climate is all that can be desired except, perhaps, a httle too favorable 
to chills and fever in many of the river bottoms. These seem to be inseparable 
from the rich vegetable deposits of any prairie or lowland country. 

The products of the country are varied, cotton being the great staple. Yet 
the past year it is thought enough rye, corn, oats and hay have been raised for 
home consumption. Necessity has diiven the people to try to raise these pro- 
ducts, and their e'fi"orts have proven very siiccessful. We were shown fruits and 
vegetables as large and fine as are to be found anywhere. What ■^dll you. say to 
a cucumber weighing 56 pounds? We saw it, and felt the heft of it. 

Timber is there in abundance and many varieties ; in many places too mucn of 
it. Yet it will only be a few years until the active lumberman will take posses- 
sion, and, instead of the silence of the unbroken forest, there will be the ring of 
the ax and the buzz of the saw. 

Of the minerals there are iron, lead, copper, coal and gypsum. The coal 
deposits on the line of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway are very valuable. 
The coal is semi-bituminous, and burns to an ash without any clinker. It is 
claimed to be very valuable for use in the manufacture of iron. 

Manufactories are few. With the abundance of raw material afforded, 
certainly a fine field presents itself in this direction. 

But, it will be asked, what is all this worth ? We will not attempt to estimate 
its value. Lands can be had from the State by the actual settler, 160 acres for 
himself, the same for his wife, and the same for each of his 13 children, if he 
has so many, free in fee to each. State lands can be bought from $1.25 upwards. 
Railroad lands can be had from 50 cents to $30 per acre. Improved farms are 
worth from $5 to $50 per acre, much of which wiE produce from three-fourths 
of a bale to a bale and a half of cotton, or from 40 to 60 bushels of corn. 

Persons desiring information in reference to the State of Arkansas vnll be 
courteously answered by Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner oi 
the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, Col. J. N. Smithee, Com- 
missioner of Immigration and State Lands, or T. B. Mihs & Co., agents for 
the purchase and sale of all classes of lands, and State and local securities, 
all at Little Rock. 



110 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



FROM THE "GEM OF THE WEST," CHICAGO. 



C. AUGUSTUS HAVILAND, Editor. 



Half a century ago Arkansas was represented as a God-forsaken country where 
civilized beings could not maintain themselves without the bowie-knife and 
derringer as constant companions. Time rolled on. The great civil war 
carried Northern men up and down its valleys and over its broad plateaus. 
It was found to be a land capable of dense population, and those who came 
home from the war told of its varied beauties, its majestic trees, its navigable 
streams, its minerals, its ores, its fruits, its inviting chmate and its fountains 
of health. Peace was declared, and thousands looked with longing eyes to 
sunny Arkansas ; but, alas, the strife was still going on. Men who had lono- 
lived with slaves to do their bidding could not forget all in a day, and many 
of those who went among them from the North proved but enemies in dis- 
guise. There was strife and contention, but at last peace came to them, and 
they are now a united and happy people, asking men of the North to lay aside 
their prejudices, and come among them as brothers of one great nation. We 
have been among them. We have conversed with their people. We have 
investigated as to their resources, looked upon their prairies and their forests, 
and we do not hesitate to declare that no State in the Union offers such attrac- 
tions for the enterprising people of the North as the hitherto unknown and 
unexplored State of Arkansas. Peace reigns within her borders. There is no 
longer prejudice against Northern men, no feehng of hatred, no animosity, 
but an earnest desire that the enterprising men of the North shall come amono- 
them and build up then- State. 

Men of the North ! Frost-bitten farmers of New England, New York, Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, there is a beautiful field of promise, a land where 
winter is almost unknown, where the tropical plants and the grains of the North 
grow side by side, where milhons of acres can be bought at from one to five 
dollars per acre, where Uncle Sam still offers you his title-deed, and where a 
fortune awaits all who choose to partake of the hospitality of its people and aid 
in buildiag up the State. Soldier boys of the North, the boys who wore the 
gray, the noble sons of the South who were not less brave than you were, stand 
with open arms to greet you as brave soldiers, as honest sons of a great nation. 
Will you accept .the right hand of fellowship and bear to them the olive branch 
of peace ? 

It is a golden opportunity to build a home and lay up wealth for your children 
among a hospitable people. Will you go and accumulate riches, or remain as 
starvehngs in the North? 



ILLINOIS CORRESPONDENCE. Ill 

Forty years ago, Northeiti Ohio was one vast forest, with hills and broken 
land and but few settlements. Now it is dotted all over with beautiful cities and 
villages, and its wealth is almost beyond computation. To-day Arkansas stands 
as one great forest, with majestic trees rivaling those of Ohio, with a soil of a 
similar character, with cHmate far more inviting, with broad acres less broken 
(in fact almost level), and watered by numerous navigable streams, and with 
portions of the State filled with mines of coal and mineral substances where must 
eventually arise a Pittsburg of the West. These broad acres can be secured 
with a few paltry dollars, and poor men can build comfortable homes upon them 
mtli their own hands and with little or no money. Men of the North, men of 
New England, men of the cold and icy Northwest, we have investigated these 
matters, and state what we know. We have, in a free and untrammeled way, 
conversed with her people, and we know they stand ready to welcome you 
as brothers and friends who have by thrift, enterprise and true manliness 
commanded their respect. Again we ask, will you go to Arkansas and build 
up homes for yourselves and your children while there is an opportunity, or 
will you remain toiling on from year to year in the icy North with no hope of 
advancement? We ask these questions in all seriousness, and leave the answer 
with you. 



CHAPTER VII -INDIANA. 



From the "PORTER COUNTY VIDETTE," VALPARAISO. 



H. M. SKIJSTNEE, Correspondent. 



|[|||HE late Editorial Excursion to Arkansas has in many respects eclipsed 
„Si ®^®iy ^ff^^i* of the kind which has been hitherto known. The mao-ni- 
^JP^ tude of the enterprise, the peculiarly elegant style in which it was con- 
ducted, and the deep and wide interest it has awakened, render it difficult to 
present in a limited space any adequate account of the tourists or the tour. 
Aiiiausas wants immigrants. Her soil and productions are of the best. Every 
advantage is offered to manufacturers for investing there their capital. Her 
citizens are loyal to the extreme. It was in order that the people of the North 
might be apprised of this that an excursion party was formed, by invitation of 
her citizens, from all the Western States to visit the State and note her advan- 
tages for themselves. 

I left Valparaiso on the afternoon of Monday, September 27, and arrived at 
St. Louis on the next morning. I spent the day in the city, as the excur- 
sionists did not start until evening. I had the pleasure of meeting at her home 
Mrs. Dr. E. E. Webster, formerly of this city, and a sister of Mrs. A. V. Bar- 
tholomew. Here I also met the Doctor's nephew. Col. Loughborough, the 
organizer of the expedition. The foll(jwing are a few notes of travel: 

_ Palace Car ''Little Eock," Wednesday Morning. 
As I write, we are flying past the seemingly interminable forests which we 
have traversed all night. Hefe is a cotton-field in a little clearing, ripe for 
picking. 

I have ordered a writing table, and with maps, gazetters and papers pass the 
tune very agreeably. My vis-a-vis is a Mr. Webber, of Des Moines, Iowa. 
Somehow we are favored with a number of callers. Here comes Mr. McClenthen, 
the Chicago Times man who recei^'tid the immortalizing caning u-om Herr Hesino-,' 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 113 

of Chicago ; and soon Ms swift pencil is detailing the matters of interest for his 
great paper. 

Mr. Brown, of Little Roclc, stops to inform me that he has taken a vote of the 
journals represented, on the money question. They stand as follows : for hard 
money, 37; for inflation, 17;- neutral, 16. The scientific, religious and literary 
papers were not counted. 

Rev. W. A. Clark, formerly of Valparaiso, comes to shake hands with us. 
He represents the Elkhart Observer. We are just crossing the White river. 
Just here comes an Arkansas thought : While the State has a hundred rivers, 
all offering magnificent water powers, and while labor is cheap, and all things are 
propitious, loliy send her cotton to New Hampshire to be manufactured ? 

Another visitor. Dr. G-eo. F. Codd, of Chicago, editor and proprietor of the 
Land Owner., takes a place at our table. He wears a heraldic badge of 
diamonds, and is quite distingue. He desires to know if I am acquainted with 
Capt. W. E. Decourcy, his old-time friend, of Dublin, Ireland. 

Mr. Hill, an Arkansan, passes around, with no little pride, a case of native 
wines. And so chatting, reading, writing, toasting, singing and playing, the 
morning passes away. 

Past Midnight. 

Undoubtedly the greatest event of the tour is over, and we are left to dream 
•of its splendor. We were met at Little Rock, where we arrived at two o'clock 
p. M., by several hundreds of people, and conveyed to different private residences 
for entertainment. My lot was fortunately cast with Mr. Sol. Clark, one of the 
most prominent lawj^ers. The entertainment given by my host was characteris- 
tically Southern in its cordiality. After dinner I was driven in a barouche about 
the city, where I met several fellow-travelers enjoying the same pleasure. Our 
party visited the Governor's residence, the Arsenal, the State House, and other 
points of unusual interest. The doorway of the Capitol had been widened to 
accommodate the cannon planted there by Brooks in the late rebellion. The 
grand banquet of the evening was held in Concordia Hall. Three or four 
hundred persons sat down to the tables at once. In the way of decoration and 
entertainment nothing, was lacking that taste and lavish expenditure could 
secure. Responses were given to more than half a dozen toasts. Officers of 
the lately hostile armies in the late ' ' onpleasantness ' ' greeted each other warmly, 
and drank to each other's health. Touching and beautiful were the tributes of 
these late ' ' Confederates ' ' to the ' ' old flag. ' ' 

With the eclat attendant upon the presence of Governor, Chief Justice, 
G-enerals and other dignitaries still in my mind, and with the visions of splendor 
of the Southern capital before me, I bid you good- night and retire to berth 8. 

Hot Springs Hotel, Sept. 30. 

It must have been after two o'clock this morning when we left the splendid 

entertainment at Concordia Hall, Little Rock, and retired to our berths. After 

a few hours of sleep, we rose to find ourselves at Malvern, where we were to 

breakfast. Here we changed cars, and took the narrow-gauge railway toward 



114 THE Np^-vV ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Hot Springs, We rode in flat ears, as the South Bend excursionists did awhile 
ago in the North. The road was not completed to the Springs, however, and we^ 
had 20 miles to travel in an El Paso stage coach. 

Of all the coaches ours was certainly the liveliest. We had most of the 
younger members of the part}^ There were the young Indianapolis J^^evjs 
reporter, the briUiant young commander, Lieut. Cushman, late of Saint Cyr, 
near Paris, Dr. Codd, late of Dublin, Col. Eoots and several others. Our road 
lay up-hill through a densely wooded tract of country. The roads were terrible 
and full of ruts and stones. At times we were obliged to alight and walk up or 
down for a short distance. 

After a few hours we arrived at this place. These springs are at present the 
most popular resort in the United States. There are frequently 3,000 visitors 
from abroad. There are guests here from various places in Europe, and from 
every State in the Union. 

Every one remembers how Ponce de Leon once sought for the springs whose 
nature was said to cause perpetual youth and bloom. These are, doubtless, the 
ones whose reputation had reached the ears of the illustrious explorer. The 
waters gush forth from 56 openings in the mountains, at a temperature varying 
with the location from 93 to 150 degrees. It is the custom to drink the water 
hot, and to bathe in it at a high temperature. All invalids have " ral cans" — 
tin vessels shaped something like coffee-pots— and at all hours you see them, 
passing by, carr3'ing the liquid to their rooms to drink at leisure. 

The town contains but 2,000 residents, yet it is very like a large city in many 
respects. There are no vacant lots. The place is lighted with gas ; street cars 
run at all times. The hotels are enormous, and really magnificent. The reason 
of much of this is that the place contains but one street, which is more than 
two miles long. The mountains rise abruptly on either side, inclosing the town 
in the long and narrow but beautiful valle}^ 

We were driven to our hotel, while a large party of the excursionists went tO' 
the Arlington House, further north. The Arlington is the most extensive and 
the larger house, yet I like ours best, since it is the most characteristically South- 
ern. It is a genuine ' ' watering-place ' ' hotel, and is something like thos^ I have 
seen at Coney Island and Ocean Grove. The halls look like they were made for 
regiments to march in. The verandas run the entire length of the front from 
each story. We have a fine bath-house, with its accompaniment of servants, 
boot-blacks, barbers, etc. 

On alighting from the coach, Dr. Codd and I immediately repaired to the bath- 
rooms. We found every convenience that we usually find in a first-class estab- 
lishment of the kind North, with the additional feature of the hot mineral water. 
We then went to dinner. This consisted of five courses and was complete in 
every particular. After dinner the large parlors and the shady verandas were 
the universal resorts. Here I had the pleasure of meeting a caller — a Mr. Moore, 
whom I used to meet with in Laporte, Ind., who had noticed my name on the 
register. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 115 

I took a long walk through the sunset. Venders of canes, lapidary dealers, 
^'isitors from abroad, boys with "ral" cans, and invalids thronged the avenues 
and jostled against one anotlier. 

I ran across a party of our quill-drivers who were being photographed upon 
a ledge of the mountain. In the evening I called upon the Moore brothers, and 
was conducted to the principal points of interest in the place by the elder one, 
who is now a civil engineer in the Government service. While I have been sit- 
ting here the editors have been congregating below. The verandas and parlors 
are crowded — supper is read 

Room 57, Night. 

Two grand balls are given in our honor this evening, and while I write the still 
town resounds with the swell of music and the trip of the dance. The grace aiid 
ease of the Southern ladies is surpassing. "The Lancers" is as much a favorite 
here as it is in the ball-rooms of the North. " Germans' ' are also popular. At the 
last "German" were two ladies who won general admiration. They wore long 
trains of black velvet, which swept like two comets over the ball-room floor. Our 
party are all to be distinguished from the other guests b}^ the blue badges which 
they wear. Part are here and part at the Arlington. 

When, in mercy's name, is a fellow to sleep? I'm boxed for to-night, if such 
a thing is possible. 

(Tap at the door. Nigger, sotto voce) : "Rev. Mr. Clark, of Elkhart, is here." 

"I can't help it ; I'm asleep — get out!" 

(An hour later. Another nigger, sotto voce): "Dr. II. C. Coates, of Valpa- 
raiso, Ind., has just arrived." 

' ' See him to-morrow. Get o — u — t ! ' ' To-morrow we return to .Malvern. 

The day dawned beautifully over the mountains upon the morning of our 
departure^rom Hot Springs. There was an early assembling of groups of our 
party and other guests in the grand halls of the hotel ; there was a magnificent 
repast at the breakfast table, a farewell draught of the hot water, and the stages 
drove up in front to take the party upon its return trip. Our same party were 
again collected in our stage, and never was a livelier company brought together. 
The wit of the gentlemen from Chicago, Little Rock, Indianapolis and Dublin 
kept our party in a merry uproar during the entire journey — no, once it was 
stopped, and it gave place to a burst of horror at a scene where the lives of a 
dozen of our party were endangered. We were at the top of a long and rugged 
hill ; the road down was full of deep ruts, with an occasional stone or stump. 
Our stage, the second in order, was about to descend, when a loud noise brought 
to us the fact that there was a runaway coach immediately beli'nd us. Our 
driver turned to let it pass, but not a second too quick, for it struck the hub, 
over which I was sitting, with violent force. In a moment we alighted, and 
rushed forward over the road after the runaways. Never can that sight be for- 
gotten. The four horses seemed to leap rather than to run. The large vehicle 
with its freight of precious lives swayed to and fro in its perilous flight, like a 
boat in a stormy sea. vSeeing that it was hopeless to endeavor to keep the coach 
from the crash which must cost the lives of the party while continuing forward, 



116 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the driver determined to sacrifice his team, and succeeded, by desperate exer- 
tions, in turning the flying steeds into a fence at one side. As by a miracle, the 
whole party escaped injurj^; but one of the horses fell, its hoof broken off, its 
cheek torn and mangled, and its side pierced b}^ staves. 

Through this and other unlooked-for circumstances our part}'' were delayed, 
and did not arrive at Malvern and Arkadelphia as soon as expected, but were 
some hours late. 

At the latter place a barbecue had been prepared for our entertainment. We 
inarched from the depot with a large number of our generous hosts to the scene 
of the festival. A long table had been built in a beautiful grove, and bountifully 
spread with roasted meats, bread, pickles and vegetables, to which our hungry 
party did ample justice. We had intended to leave for the Texas border on the 
same afternoon, but this now had to be given up, as we had lost so much time 
by dela3\ Col. Loughborough proposed instead to treat us to a visit to the 
cotton-fields to the south of the city, and we left the grove immediately after 
dinner to start on this delightful jovu'ney. 

Through the courtesy of the Colonel, a large number of ladies and gentlemen 
were invited to accompany us. The palace cars were filled to overflowing. 
Our party were introduced to a number of the fair ladies of the South, who now, 
for the first time during our trif!>, were our companions. We visited some lai-ge 
cotton-fields several miles to the south, and left the train in order to procure 
samples of the blooms for souvenirs. 

At about dark we re-embarked, and sped gaily on to Ai'kadelphia. By request 
the ladies sung for us, and a number of our party joined in the music. Singu- 
larly, I thought the first air they sung was one which I have often heard in our 
High School at home — 

" Go where you will, on land and on sea, 
' I'll share all your sorrows and cares ; 
And at night while I kneel by the bedside and pray, 
I'll remember you all in my prayers." ^ 

At Arkadelphia we were received in an immense hotel-room, where there were 
billiard tables and a bar. The welcoming speech was made by Col. ^Goulding, 
whose daughter had accompanied us upon the excursion. Among the responses 
given was one by Rev. W. A. Clark, formerly of our town, and Mr. Robinson, 
of Fort Wayne. These gentlemen did themselves credit by the gentlemanl}^ and 
elegant manner in which they responded to their generous welcome. At a late 
Iiour we again repaired to our coaches, where our berths had in the meantime 
■been arranged. I little thought it was to be my last night in the ' ' Little Rock, ' ' 
or that I would next evening be among the ' ' Secessionists ' ' from the part}^ 

On the morning after the Arkadelphia expedition, we woke to find ourselves 
at the station in Little Rock. We breakfasted at a grand hotel connected with 
the railway, and then assembled upon the large platform adjacent to " resoloot" 
and form our different excursion parties. Now, for the first time, our compan}^ 
were to separate — one di^dsion to go east upon the Memphis road, and one to 
follow up the Arkansas river toward Fort Smith. Desu-ing to see the western 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 117 

part of the State, I chose the latter route, and I afterwards had no occasion to 
regret it. Among my fellow-passengers were Rev. W. A. Clark, of Elkhart, and 
Dr. H. C. Coates, of the Vale. It was a beautiful morning, and the company- 
were in high spirits. A dining car was attached to our train, and almost any 
deskable luxury in the way of eatables and drinkables was to be found, and ably 
served by amiable darldes. We visited the Clarksville cotton-gin, and the coal 
mines near the west terminus of the road. Here we were all to stop, and here 
we should have remained had it not been for the kindness of Col. Curiy, the 
proprietor of the stage line from that place to the Fort. The gentleman offered to 
all who would go a passage with him in his coaches. A large number of persons 
were immediately seized with the Fort Smith epidemic ; but after considering the 
horrors of a 50 miles ride at night to an already fatigued party, nearly all 
of them declined, with many regrets, the invitation they had before so heartily 
accepted — all but six : Dr. G. F. Codd, of Chicago, Lieut. Cushman, of Little 
Rock, Mr. Fisher, of Elja-ia, O., two printers from Northern Ohio, and "Our 
Reporter, ' ' , a party who 

" Vital in every part, 
Could not but by annihilation die." 

We rode on to Altus and alighted, and the train cut off all retreat by returning 
to the mines. Altus has been built entirely since last May, and consisted of 
buildings of fresh, new lumber. Dr. Codd and I accepted a cordial invitation to 
stoj) and refresh ourselves by a bath and a short rest at the "Korn Licker House," 
the only hotel in the place. 

There proved to be passengers for only one coach, and we started on our soli- 
tary way toward the setting sun. Darkness soon fell upon us, and as we dashed 
through the gloom of interminable forests, a sense of the romance of the occa- 
sion and the grandeur of the scene brought upon us a strange witchery of feeling. 
Our party joined in the airs of "Silver Threads among the Gold," " Swanee 
River," "Old Cabin Home," and kindred songs. We halted at Ozark, a village 
in the Ozark Mountains, for supper. We did not stop again until after midnight, 
when we changed horses at a solitary stable in the depths of the wood. There 
wvis no sleep for us that night. Nine of us were packed in the coach, and four 
were riding on the top. For a time I joined the company above. The tall trees 
seemed in places to meet over our heads. The glare of the lamps only deepened 
the gloom bej^^ond. In these days of interminable railways, a charm of novelty 
attaches to the old coach lines and the stage roads through the unsettled regions, 
which one can find in no other method of travel. Towards morning it became 
cold, very cold. Shortly after daybreak the Colonel reined up the horses at the 
residence of Mrs. England, at the city of Van Buren, intending to claim the 
hospitality of the house. We were warmly welcomed. A cheery fire glowed in 
the fireplace, and a bountiful breakfast was soon served in the adjoining room. 
Never can we forget the bright glow and the genial hospitality of that pleasant 
cottage under the sycamores at Van Buren. There was no public reception of 
our little party, for the residents of that place had no idea that we should ^dsit 
their part of the State. It was a beautiful Sabbath morning, and the city was 



118 ■ THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

slumbering- in quiet. We drove on from Van Buren, crossed the broad Arkansas 
in a steam ferry, and about nine o'clock reached our destination — Fort Smith. 
Though our party came unexpected, it was not long until a number of gentlemen 
called upon us ; indeed, we were the recipients of constant calls during the day. 
Among others we met Senator Fishback^ a noble man and a true statesman. We 
went to visit the old fort. Part of this lies in Arkansas and part in Indian Ter- 
ritory. After many, many years of ruling importance as a trading and militar}^ 
post. Fort Smith has been superseded in the Indian trade by other posts of more 
modern date, and in the present state of peace with "Lo," we have little need 
of it as a military stronghold. The ancient house of the garrison is now used as 
a court-room and jail. Other buildings have been burned and ruined. Five 
still remain, if I remember correctly, of all the buildings of the fort. The ram- 
part inclosing these covers, I think, about three acres. It was never completed, 
owing to the hostility of Gen. Scott to the expending of so much money on it 
at the time of the Mexican war. In front of the old magazine still stood the 
gallows where the six murderers were hung on the third of September of this 
year— an event familiar to all of our readers. The ropes still hung upon the 
scaffold beam, and everything remained as on the morning of execution. 

The house of the old garrison is built of red brick, and is large and old-fash- 
ioned in style of architecture. As we went up the steps and into the large centre 
room, I could not help thinking of its history. From out those windows, years 
and years ago, the soldiers used to look ; not as I, upon a thriving and beautiful 
cit}'^, but upon an unlimited expanse of hostile country, which shut them out 
from the world beyond. Here they lived ; before this old fire-place the blazing 
logs lit up their sad or merry groups. There they fell, manfully fighting, and 
the cold stone walls of the parapet are their noble monument. Those Avere 
heroic days in the early history of the fort. We climbed over the iron gate on 
the north side, and after passing the State-line monument, found ourselves in 
the Choctaw division of Indian Territory. Tourists who speak of Indian Terri- 
tory are nearly all accused of exaggeration. Tlieir descriptions, however, are 
fuUy realized in Choctaw land. The landscape reminded me of the Miltonian 
painting of the plains of heaven ; with its distant ridges of mountains, its smiling 
plains, its graceful hills and winding streams, the scene is as fair as the human 
mind can conceive. 

I was obliged to start on my return on Sunday night, in order to be present at 
our Valparaiso Fair. The Doctor, the Lieutenant and Mr. Fisher decided to 
remain longer, and ray only companions were Messrs. Mann and Ellis, of Ohio. 
An agreeable surprise awaited us at Van Buren. A large number of citizens 
had gathered at Mrs. England's, and another bountiful "spread" had been 
prepared. This was our last entertainment by the people of the State, which 
was highty appreciated, and met with a hearty response. Some of our hosts 
were from the North, and- others had always lived in the South. The warm 
welcome with which they met us was characteristic of Southern hospitality. 

At Altus we breakfasted at the " Korn Licker House," and we rode all day 
over the road to Little Rock. The excursion party had long since left, and I 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 119 

■expected to meet none of n\y former companions. While passing through a car 
of the Iron Mountain train I was hailed by Judge Shirk, of Peru, Ind., with 
"whom I returned to St. Louis. Here I again met Dr. and Mrs. Webster, 
McClenthen, of the Chicago Times, and Mr. Mathews, of Ohio. 

* * * * # * ^ 

Since the majority of our party, in "writing up" this excursion, have dwelt 
particular^ on the features and resources of the country, I have recorded prin- 
cipally the events of the tour. I ought, however, to give testimony as to the 
wants of the State. 

Arkansas ivants farmers. So exclusive has been the culture of cotton for 
years, that until quite recently scarcely smy enterprise has been expended upon 
cereals, and these have been imported to a very large extent from other States. 
The productiveness of the soil was truty astonishing to our party. The diversity 
of the lands, presenting to us rolling prairies, rich bottom-lands and elevated 
mountain regions, affords facilities for producing almost any crop the planter 
might desire. Land is cheap. From the abundance of timber, houses, fences 
and other improvements are also cheap. Every natural advantage is there, and 
is only waiting for capital and enterprise to develop the State's resources. 

The State vxmts mills and millers. First-class water-power is to be met 
with on every hand. Deep and rapid streams without number course throuo-h 
the country. There are but few mills in the State. Before the inhabitants 
began to manufacture their own breadstuff these were not greatly needed ; now, 
liowever, the awakening agricultural industries require and will support a laro-e 
number. 

The State tvants manufactures of all kinds. Why should she send to Illinois 
and other States for almost every tool and agricultural implement she uses ? 
Why is her cotton sent to New England for manufacture when a little enterprise 
would manufacture it at home ? 

Arhxnsas wants mines and miners. The State is said to possess more mineral 
wealth than any other in the Union. Coal, iron, lead and zinc are found in large 
quantities. Quarries of excellent stone and rich marble abound. Mineral lands 
may be obtained ver^^ cheap, and when developed will pay an immense profit to 
one who invests in them. 

The State wants men — true, honest, enterprising men, such as we have in 
abundance in the North. She wants men like Col. Loughborough and Col. 
Mills, who will labor to build up the State. We predict a brilliant future for 
Arkansas. Rising above the misfortunes of war, awakening to life all her latent 
energies, Arkansas will soon take a front rank in the baud of States. 



120 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVFLERS. 



FROM THE "NEW CASTLE COURIER." 



D. W. CHAMBERS, CORRESPONDENT. 



Your correspondent left New Castle on Sept. 27th and arrived at St. Louis at 
7,30 on Tuesday morning, and so liad all day Tuesday in the great city of the 
West, taking in the bridge and tunnel under the streets ; but as St. Louis has 
been visited by many of your readers and often described by correspondents in 
your paper, it is unnecessary for me to enter upon any description of its present 
status or its great future. 

' We left St. Louis by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad at 
nine o'clock on Tuesday night, Sept. 28th. It might be here proper to say that 
your correspondent formed one of a party of editors from the Northwestern 
States, who visited the State of Arkansas by imitation of many of her enterpris- 
ino- citizens for the purpose of extending information as to the great natural 
resources of this heretofore comparatively unknown and much abused State, and 
to report upon the important question to Northern men contemplating emigra- 
tion whether Arkansas, with her genial and semi-tropical climate, is a safe place 
for such men to migrate with their families ; but of this I will say more farther 
on in this letter. 

After being fairlj'' domiciled in the Pullman cars put at our service, and to be 
occupied as our homes until our return to St. Louis, I discovered that our party 
was composed of representatives of over 100 papers from the States of Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, 
the largest representation being from Indiana and Illinois. It may be stated as 
a fact in this connection that an enterprising reporter of one of the Little Rock 
papers passed through our train and took the census of the papers represented 
on the question of inflation or specie resumption, and out of the 44 papers that 
had any opinion upon the question, 30 were for specie resumption and 14 for 
inflation ; the Courier is one of the 30 reported in favor of specie resumption. 
After a sound sleep, and during which time we passed many objects of interest, 
such as the Iron Mountain of Missouri, and Pilot Knob, a place of note during, 
the war, we awoke Wednesday morning at Moark, a town situated, as the name 
indicates, on the Missouri and Arkansas line ; so at this point we reached the 
real object of our tour of observation in the State of Arkansas. From this place 
we moved southward over a well timbered country a distance of 44 miles to 
Walnut Ridge, where we had an excellent breakfast served up "free gratis for 
nothing." A.fter breakfast a bear tied to a tree close by was the object of 
attraction, and we were reliably informed that they were abundant in the forests 
close by. Upon leading here we continued our way to the city of Little Rock, 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 121 

distant 340 miles from St. Louis. The region of country traversed by the Iron 
Mountain Raih-oad from the northern line of the State of Arkansas to this city, 
save on tlie river bottoms, is decidedly new, and timbred chiefly by oak, gum 
and hickory. Small farms are opened along the road at distances of from one 
to four miles apart, the latter being the distance from one clearing to another, 
the crops raised being chiefly corn and cotton. 

On our arrival at Little Rock at three p. m. on Wednesdaj^, we found in waiting 
for us hundreds of the citizens of the city with their cai-riages ready to convey us 
to their residences for dinner. Your correspondent had the great pleasure of being 
entertained by Major Harrington, United States District Attorney for the State 
of Arkansas, and his estimable lady, and after dinner was driven all over the city 
and around the subu.rbs ; all of the excursionists M^ere treated in the same man- 
ner, no trouble or expense being spared by the citizens to show their city and 
the spirit of her people toward Northern men. Little Rock is a beautiful city,, 
situated on the southern branch of the Arkansas river, on an elevated plateau 
overlooking the surrounding country in every direction for many miles ; down 
the river to the southeast extend the wide river bottoms covered with cotton- 
fields as far as the eye can reach, and the same view is presented up the river. 
The drainage of the city is natural and excellent, and its healthfulness unsur- 
passed. It is the geographical and commercial center of the State. It is. 
located at a point on the river which steamboats of large size can always 
reach a greater part of the year, and in many seasons the year round. And 
there is every reason to believe that this city of roses will be a second, 
Indianapolis. Having the natural advantage of a good navigable river ta 
start with, it has already added thereto railroads from four different direc- 
tions, with some five more in course of construction. When these roads, 
are completed Little Rock will be the hub of a State much larger than 
Indiana. The southeast half of this State is as rich a cotton-field as there is 
in the Union, and the northwest half is as rich in iron, coal, stone and timber as 
any part of the country, and is unsurpassed in its capabilities for the production 
of corn, wheat, oats and other Northern cereals and all kinds of fruits known in 
Indiana, together with many semi-tropical fruits. With these natural and arti- 
ficial advantages we cannot see why Little Rock should not be a city of more 
than 50,000 inhabitants in less than ten years. It will be, when the railroads 
now in course of construction are completed, the commercial and manufac- 
turing center of a district of country much larger than that of either Indian- 
apolis, Cincinnati or Louisville. It has one college, many excellent schools, 
commercial houses, banks, lawyers and doctors commensurate with the wants of 
the people. Ha^sdng thus taken in the city during the afternoon and evening, at 
nine o'clock p. m. a banquet was given the excursionists at Concordia Hall by 
the citizens, and was said to have been one of the largest and grandest ever 
given in the Southwest. The large and spacious hall was decorated with the 
stars and stripes on every side. On entering the hall the motto, " The Pen is. 
mightier than the Sword," first struck the eye. Another sentence in quotations 
were the words "Young Man, go West," the sentence pointing south, meaning.^ 



122 THE NEW ARKAXSAS TRAVELERS. 

of course, by wa}^ of Little Rock. This of course suited your Greeley cor- 
respondeut. The room was decorated with a great man}^ pictures, among which 
I may mention Col. Sand}^ Faulkner, the old original Arkansas traveler, who, I 
learned for the first time, was a real genuine man, and no imagination. The 
supper was superb. The ladies of the city had covered the tables with button- 
liole bouquets, which the excursionists were not slow in appropriating. There 
were many toasts and responses, in all of which there was manifested the 
"warmest feeling between the Southwest and Northwest. 

At two o'clock in the morning our party betook itself to our sleepers, and with- 
out knowing Avlien we started or when we stopped, on Friday morning we found 
ourselves at Malvern, where we were furnished by the citizens with a most 
excellent breakfast, and after a little speech-making we seated ourselves on the 
platform cars of a construction train of a narrow-gauge railroad being built from 
this point on the Iron Mountain Railroad to Hot Springs, a distance of 22 miles. 
Running out on this train about eight miles, we took old-fashioned stages, and 
sloTSfly made our way over a semi-mountainous country to the city of Hot 
'Springs, a city of between 4,000 and 5,000 inhabitants, and decidedly cosmo- 
politan in all of its characteristics. It has a large number of most excellent 
hotels, among which I may mention the Arlington, a new house erected at the 
«normous expense of $80,000, and equal, in all its equipments, to the best 
iiotels of Cincinnati or Indianapolis. The city is built upon one street only, two 
miles or more in length, and turns in different directions about as often as a 
<iow-path through the woods. This is a matter of necessity, as the city is in a 
narrow valley, hardly affording room for one street and houses upon either side, 
and the mountains are too steep for any buildings or streets. So this is a city 
"without any dog-fennel, back streets, turn-table streets, filthy allej^s, or cross 
streets. The buildings of the town are not generally first-class, from the fact 
that the title to all of the land on which the city is built and for a mile in every 
direction is in dispute, the United States having reserved four sections of land 
immediately around the Hot Springs, but yet private parties claim title to the 
lands, and their claims are sufficiently plausible to have cavised litigation over 
the title. The District Court of the United States has decided the title to be in 
the Government, but the private claimants have appealed to the Supreme Court 
of the United States. That the Government should retain control of these 
Springs there can be no question. To allow them to pass into the hands of pri- 
vate parties would be to establish a monopoly and debar all parties, not million- 
aires, bloated bondholders, or coupon-clippers, from bathing in waters which are 
a specific for many of the chronic ailments to which flesh is heir. The number 
of these -springs is 57, varying in temperature from 93 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit — 
the latter boiling an egg in a few minutes. They are all situated on the east 
mountain of the valley, the water coming from the west mountain, only 100 
feet distant, being cold. The tops of these two mountains are 400 feet above 
the bottom of the valley, and the valley is 600 feet above the level of the ocean. 
The tops of both of the mountains, as well as the sides, are heavily covered with 
oak and pine timber. The use of these waters, liberally applied, both internall}^ 



INDIANA COKRESPOXDEXCE. 123 

mid externally, is almost a sure cure for skin and scrofulous diseases, for rheu- 
matism and neuralgia, and is a dead shot on hay fever, and a valuable aid in 
the treatment of man}'' other diseases too numerous to mention in a letter of 
this character. The ladies have found that by drinking and bathing in these 
waters their complexion is greatly improved, and those on the shady side of 
fort}' have their early wrinkles removed and the complexion restored to the 
beaut}^ and softness of early womanhood. These waters may be drank just as 
they flow' out of the mountain side, without any unpleasant sensation; there is 
none of that flat, sickening taste felt in drinking water artificially heated, but it 
is palatable and toning in its immediate effects. There is one remarkable prop- 
erty about these waters, as we were informed that if a quantity of this water, 
as it runs from the spring at a temperature of 150 degrees, and an equal quan- 
tity from a cold spring, in separate vessels, be placed upon a stove, the cold 
water will boil first, the heat applied to both vessels being the same. Hereto- 
fore these springs have been almost inaccessible to the world, as, until within a 
little over a j'ear ago, it was necessary to stage it over a rough, mountainous 
road, a distance of 60 miles from Little Rock, and a trip to the springs and 
back, without an upset, Avas an exception. Now it is only necessary to stage 
it 22 miles, and in this distance, our party had a runaway which resulted 
in killing a horse and temporarih' bleaching, by fright, fourteen editors. But 
the narrow-gauge railroad from Malvern to Hot Springs will be completed and 
oars running over it bj^ the first of January, 1876, so that the most confirmed 
invalid may very soon make the journey without risk of breaking limb or being 
jolted int^o a jelly before reaching the fountain of ^youth. 

These thermal springs are destined in the near future to become a great resort 
for invalids from all parts of the countr}^, as well as a fashionable residence for 
persons of fortune. Guests from all parts of the world are found registered at 
the hotels. As all your readers are not invalids, and as many of those who are 
ma}' not have the means to journey 700 miles to Hot Springs, and pay from $25 to 
$100 a month for board, I pass from the subject. Suffice it to say that our party 
spent a day and night in this place, and it will no doubt be written up by much 
abler writers than the representative of the Courier on this excursion. 

Returning to Malvern we entered our sleepers, and soon found ourselves at 
Arkadelphia, a fine little town situated at the head of navigation on the Ouachita 
river, distant 60 miles southwest from Little Rock. Here an ox had been roasted 
whole for our party, which after proper carAing, and other good things had been 
added, we consumed in good style. After much speech-making and protesta- 
tions of love by our opponents in the late unpleasantness, and after making the 
a-cquaintanee of many beautiful ladies who here turned out en masse to welcome 
us, as they had clone at all other points, we proceeded southwestward 10 or 15 
miles, and at intervals the train was stopped to allow us to get out and run over 
the cotton-fields, now white as fields covered with snowball bushes in fall bloom. 
All supplied themselves with one or more stalks of the great king of the South 
to take home for exhibition. We here learned that such cotton-fields as we Avere 
then in, and which would produce from-one to two bales of cotton per acre, could 



124 THE NEW ARKANSAS TllAVELEUS. 

be bought from $15 to $20 per acre ; this, of cuurse, meant at that price per acre 
for the whole farm, taking improved and unimproved land togetlier, but all sus- 
ceptible of cultivation. Much of the cotton is raised by colored tenants, who 
receive three-fourths of the cotton and deliver the other fourth in the bale to the 
landlord. So it will at once be seen that cotton-raising is profitable to both 
tenant and landlord, even at tlie present low price of 13 cents a pound, or $G5 
a bale. It requires the same amount of labor to raise cotton and corn to time 
of harvesting, but the cost of picking and ginning an acre of cotton is consider- 
ably more tlian gathering and cribbing an acre of corn. After having thus 
learned all we could about the price of land, terms of leasing, and profit of cot- 
ton-raising, we again betook ourselves to our traveling home, and on Saturday 
morning woke up in Little Rock. 

Our party here divided, some going northwest on the Little Rock & Fort 
Smith road, and others going eastward to Memphis ; among the latter was your 
representative. Concerning the country up the Ai'kansas river, I know nothing, 
except by information ft'om those who took that route, but from this source I 
learn that this part of the country has a more Northern appearance than any 
other part of the State, and is a most excellent fruit country ; improvements 
good — many two-story brick and excellent* frame houses, with slate mansard 
roofs, good out-buildings, and other evidences of civilization and refinement. In 
fact, this part of the State is largely settled by Northern men, the Little Rock 
& Fort Smith road being built entirely by Boston capital. The country along-; 
this road is slightly rolling, part prairie and part timber, the latter bping very 
large. 

The eastern division of the editorial corps went eastward as far as Forrest 
City, on what is here known as Crowley's Ridge, over 100 miles from Little 
Rock and about 40 from Memphis. Along this route the country is largely 
prairie, but dotted all over with islands of timber, so that at no point can the 
farmer get more than a mile or two from timber ; in fact, so plentiful is timber 
in this State that we nowhere saw any farm fence other than the worm-rail style. 
Lonoke, the county seat of Lonoke county, is a young and thriving village, the 
county onl}'^ having had an existence since 1873. Carlisle is another point on 
this road of considerable promise. Lonoke is 23 miles from Little Rock, and 
Carlisle about 2.5. Both of these villages are in the prairie country heretofore 
spoken of, and land may be bought near either of these points at from $2 to $10 
an acre for unimproved, and $5 to $50 for improved. On these prairie lands I 
learned, by inquiry of divers persons as to the crop yield here, that an average 
yield of wheat is from 15 to 25 bushels ; corn, 20 bushels ; oats, 40 bushels ; and 
hay, t^o tons per acre. Governor Hadley, a New York carpet-bagger, told me 
that he cut from four acres of timothy 1 1 tons of excellent hay. An extensive 
business is here being done in cutting the wild prairie grass, baling it with a steam 
press — wliich we saw in operation — and shipping it to Memphis and Little Rock, 
For many kinds of fruit these prairie lands are unexcelled ; peaches were here 
so abundant during the past season that the very best qualities only brought 25 
cents a bushel. Excellent apples are grown here, but there is some difficulty in 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 125 

getting varieties to keep well all winter. Heretofore the nursery stock of this 
part of the State has been largely purchased from Northern establishments, and 
what are Avinter apples North turn out to be fall apples South. This they are 
now attempting to remed}^ by propagating from Southern seedlings or buying 
their trees from nurseries of their own latitude. But the specimens of apples we 
saw were good. The possibilities of this section of the country for the produc- 
tion of pears are certainly unsurpassed even by California. We here saw a 
Duchess d'Aiigouleme pear that weighed two pounds and three ounces. The 
writer has experimented slightly on pear-raising, but has never succeeded in 
getting a specimen of this variety to weigh over three-quarters of a pound. 
Apricots, figs and some other varieties of fruit of a semi-tropical nature may be 
raised in Central and Southern Arkansas. 

Crowley Ridge is the onty high ground between Little Rock and the Missis- 
sippi river. This ridge starts out from the river at Helena and nuis to the 
northern line of the State, is from five to ten miles in width, well timbered with 
large 3^ellow poplar, sugar, gum, beech, black and white walnut ; soil fertile. 
This ridge is veiy healthy and well settled ; land is worth from $5 to $40 an 
acre, according to improvements. We noticed along this ridge fine apples still 
on the trees, and where the peach crop had literally broken all the trees down, 
so that it appeared to us that they would be worthless for another crop. Fine 
large springs run out all along this ridge and make it an excellent stock country, 
iis all of our Northern grasses grow well upon this clay soil. 

Pardon me for so long a letter, but allow me to say to the young men and old 
contemplating a change of home, either to better their climate or financial con- 
dition, go and look at the Southwest before taking your families to Minnesota, 
Nebraska, or an}'' other Northwestern State, to be buried in the snows for many 
months in the jes^r. 

I have said nothing on the question of society and the political status of the 
South, from the fact that our people are clail}^ surfeited b}-" columns of informa- 
tion on that subject. No man need expect to find as good society in a compara- 
tivel}' new countiy as we have in Henry county. But any one with an average 
amount of pluck ma}^ go to Arkansas — and I have no donbt it is true as to most 
other parts of the South — and hold any political notions he sees proper, and be 
just as safe as anywhere else in a country as new and sparsely settled as this 
State. They have severe laws here against carrying concealed weapons, and 
they also have that most excellent law against the use of proA^oking language, 
and the penalty is much heavier than in Indiana, and thereby eveiy person in 
Arkansas is required by law to be a gentleman ; but of course all citizens do not 
anywhere obey the laws of the land. I have another reason to beheve society 
good in Arkansas ; it is this : I was introduced to no one, heard nobody else 
introduced to any one, heard no man speak in the State, and heard no man 
spoken of, Avho was not either a Governor, General, Colonel, Judge or Major. 
There is CAddently no person in this State of as low a rank as Captain. I was, 
therefore, during my staj^, breA^eted to rank suitable to the surroundings. 
Captains, Lieutenants and Misters have all migrated to Texas. 



126 THE y^'^W ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



FROM THE "GREENCASTLE BANNER." 



J. M. D. HAYS, COKUESPOXDENT. 



The Arkansas Editorial Excursion met at St. Loviis, Tuesdaj^, Sept. 28, and 
left there over the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway at nine p. m.^ 
in a train of Pallman palace sleeping coaches, upon the invitation of Hon. James 
M. Loughborough, Laud Commissioner of said road, and Messrs. T. B. Mills & 
Co., editors of the Spirit of Arkansas, at Little Rock, Arkansas. The first stop 
was for breakfast at Walnut Ridge, county seat of Clayton county. This county 
is comparatively new and unsettled, but has good farming lands and abounds with 
the very best of timber. The next stop was at Judsonia,'in White count}^. 
Here is located Judson University, Rev. Benjamin Thomas, A. M., President;: 
292 miles from St. Louis, and 53 miles northeast of Little Rock, in one of the 
most beautiful and healthful portions of the State, and in a community noted 
for intelligence and morality. The entire absence of saloons indicates the prac- 
tical effectiveness of the law, which prohibits the sale and manufacture of the 
ardent, gambling, horse-racing, etc., within three miles of the institution. It 
is under the control or the management of the Baptists. 

The party arrived in Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, situated on the 
Arkansas river. ^The city took its name from- a small rock, there being a large 
one on the north side of the river known as Big Rock. The excursionists were 
met at the depot by a large number of citizens, where carriages were in waiting,, 
who conveyed the excursionists to tlie private residences of the citizens for enter- 
tainment. The two Greencastle representatives had the good fortune to be taken 
to Judge Eakin's, where they were entertained in true Southern style. The 
Judge is a gentleman of fine culture, being a graduate of Yale College, and was. 
formerly an editor and lived at Wasliington, Hempstead . county, and was the 
only editor who kept his paper running through the entire war. Little Rock is. 
in Pulaski count}^, and had a population in 1870 of 32,066, and has now increased 
probably to 40,000. The assessed value of real estate in this county is $9,592,- 
715, and personal property $2,719,437, and no bonded or fioating debt. This 
county lies on both sides of the Arkansas river, and in location and general 
charaateristics is desirable. All the varieties of land and soil may be found here, 
from the gentle undulating alluvial to hilly peak and craggy cliff, the roughest, 
however, being the best fruit and grape land. Within the county can be found 
all the advantages sought by the farmer or merchant. 

THE BAN|QUET. 

The complimentary banquet at Concordia Hall, given by the citizens of Little 
Rock, was one of the largest and grandest ever given in the Soutliwest. The 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 127 

spacious hall was decorated with the stars and stripes on every side. On enter- 
ing the hall the motto,, "The pen is mightier than the sword," first struck the 
eye, but some eyes could not have struck it before 12 o'clock. Over the orches- 
tra hung the handsome likeness of Mayor John G. Fletcher, and on the left of 
him, Col. "Sandy" Faulkner, deceased, the old original Ai'kausaw Traveler. 
The meeting was called to order by Hon. J. M. Loughborough, and Gen. R. C. 
Newton delivered the speech of welcome in an earnest manner. His welcome 
was but the counterpart of every one present. He said that he was pleased to 
have ej^e-witnesses in the State that people might be seen as they are, that their 
manners, habits, etc., might be observed. He wanted the visitors to come often 
and come at last to stay. It pleased him to know that we had an opportunity 
to show our State and our products and our people. The Northwest and South- 
west were just becoming acquainted with each other, and he was glad to see it 
and hoped it would be continued. 

Toasts and speeches then followed, interspersed with good music, until about 
two p. M. , when the excursionists boarded their train for Malvern, accompanied 
by about 50 Generals, 24 Colonels, and one Lieutenant (Cushman) of the regular 
army, who is a team in every respect. From here we went by rail and stage ta 

HOT SPRINGS, 

a place of some 3,000 inhabitants. No place in America offers to the afRicted 
more speedy relief for many of the ills to vfhich human flesh is heir than these 
Hot Springs, as the rapidly increasing numbers which yearly congregate at 
this place clearly testify. The valley in which the town is situated is 600 feet 
above tide-water and is hemmed in by mountains 400 feet above the valley, and 
is well pro^dded with hotels. One has just been completed at a cost of $80,000j 
and is called the " Arlington," although the Hot Springs Hotel seems to have 
the rhn. 

On the east side of the street and the west side of the mountain is where the 
hot springs are located, being some 58 in number. Some of them are hot 
enough to cook an egg in 15 minutes. There was a reception given at the 
Arlington at night and a hop at both hotels. The entire expense of conveying- 
the guests to and from the railroad and hotel biUs was paid by the citizens of 
Hot Springs, Col. Rector being the leader in the enterprise, and the finest looldngr 
man in the State. After returning to Malvern, on Friday we went to Ai-ka- 
delphia, county seat of Clark county, on the Ouachita river. It is a promising 
town with some 1200 inhabitants. 

The county has a population of 12,000, and is well watered by fine springs and 
streams, several of them furnishing valuable water-power. The bottom-landa 
are of excellent quality, while the uplands are fertile and productive in all the 
grain crops, and for pasturage- or fruit-^TOwing they are not excelled by any 
county in the State. The bottoms are composed of black soil and the farms 
here are very productive. Limestone of a superior quality is abundant here. 
This is a good country to migrate to. 

The people of this town, Ai'kadelphia, are alive and full of enterprise. They- 
gave the party a warm reception, prepared an old-fashioned barbecue, roasted 



128 - THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

an ox, and had a splendid time generall3^ We went from tliere south to the 
cotton plantation of Col. Garling, where we witnessed the darkies "pick'ia ob 
de cotton," weighing and preparing for the gin-house. The hat was passed and 
quite a number of nickels were raised, for which we were ampty paid by the 
darkies singing some plantation hymns. We returned from here to Little Rock, 
where the party divided, part going down the Arkansas vallej^ and part up, stop- 
jDing at coal mines and saw mills, at Lemsburgh, in Conway county, where a 
large crowd met them at the depot, under the leadership of Capt. W. B. Gibson, 
who had a cannon on the grounds and fired salutes. This caused the crowd to 
be slow in getting out. A splendid lunch was in waiting, and the platform was 
full of samples of corn, wheat, a^pples, cotton, pumpkins and cucumbers, one 
cucumber weighing 64 pounds. The county is bounded on the south by the 
Arkansas river, and on the east by Pulaski ; has a population of 9,000 enterpris- 
ing people ; good schools, churches, etc., and anything that grows can be raised 
tere. It is filling up with men of grit from the North, who are plowing deep, 
making money fast, and are well pleased. After leaving here we stopped at 
Tlusselville, Pope county — pretty much of the same kind of land, citizens, etc. 
"The train went as far west as Ozark, the present terminus of the Little Rock & 
Port Smith Railroad. Returning, we took supper at Russelville, where every- 
thing had been prepared in splendid style, gotten up at the expense of Capt. 
Hartman, Superintendent of the road, to whom a vote of thanks was given for 
Jiis generous hospitality and kindness shown the excursionists. 



PROM THE "PERU DAILY TIMES." 



J.. M. JACKSOiS!', Correspondent. 



In letters during my late trip with the Arkansas excursion, I endeavored to 
^ve you an idea of the kind of time we were having, and what parts of the 
country we were visiting. I will now, in a few words, give you m}^ impression 
of the country. In the first place, Sovithwestern Missouri is a very rocky and 
xaountaJnous country, the principal production being pig-iron. Some of the soil 
would possibly make brick if well manured ; but the idea of raising grain on such 
land would not be entertained in a well-regulated asylum for the insane. After 
passing the Arkansas line we found a fine, well-timbered country, with small 
■cotton-fields, and such corn as we raise on our clay uplands. As we got further 
south the land improved in quality. Judging from the size of the corn, and 
the increase in number and size of cotton-fields, I think they have some of as 
-good land on the Arkansas and Ouacliita bottoms as there is in Miami county. 



INDIANA CORKESruNDKNCfi. 129* 

Further down, towards Texarkana, there are black loam lands covered with> 
cotton-fields, which, if owned and managed by thrifty Northern men, would cer- 
tainly have ' ' millions in it. ' ' To say that the Southern people are hospitable- 
would be uttering a proverb ; but the people of the North have but little idea how 
anxious the planters and business men are to have emigration from the North and 
West.' They look upon a large emigration from the North, bringing enterprise and 
capital, as being their only temporal salvation, and are ready to take by the hand, 
any one who comes to seek a home with them, without regard to religious or politi- 
cal opinions. In company with Mr. Brooke I conversed with soldiers of the Union 
army who were through all the Brooks and Baxter troubles, and particularly^ 
with a most remarkably talented young Irishman who has a plantation on the 
road east of Little Rock, who gave me a full description of the troubles during; 
the reconstruction period. His descriptive powers were wonderful, and for act- 
ing Winchell in his palmiest days could not excel him. I have forgotten his; 
name, but will not soon forget him. Should these lines meet his eyes, I hope it 
will not cavise him to blush when I say that the last toast by the ' ^ nre-delayedL 
excursionists' ' was ' ' The talented young Irishman we met by the way. ' ' 

It would, perhaps, be out of place to acknowledge the courtesies received at 
the different points visited and by ditferent parties, but an exception must be 
made in favor of Hot Springs.. The people of that place excelled anything on 
the route ; to attempt to describe it would be a failure ; the citizens vied witk^ 
each other in efforts to make our stay pleasant and agreeable. Col. Rector, in 
particular, seemed to be everywhere present, his fine personal appearance and 
manly bearing being the subject of universal remark. Before leaving the State 
of Arkansas the excursionists got together and adopted some resolutions, which. 
I think expressed the unanimous sentiments of the party. 

[The resolutions are printed on page 55.] 

So much for the Arkansas Editorial Excursion. We did not get down inta' 
Texas for want of time. The programme included a barbecue at Texai^kana, 
Texas, on the evening of Oct. 1st, but on account of delaj's at Hot Springs, 
and Ai'kadelphia we could not run down there without getting behind at other 
places. Afterwards we learned they had made extensive preparations for us. 
and were very much disappointed. Taking the trip all in all, it was a very 
pleasant one. The party were mostly editors of papers from Indiana, Ohio,, 
Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Missouri. They were intelligent gentle- 
men, who knew how to behave themselves. The only one that kept so glo-^ 
riously drunk he could not say " truly rural," was, I am happy to say, not 
from Indiana. And now, Mr. Editor, I will close, and when another excursion, 
of the kind occurs and no one else will offer, consider me in. I am alwaj^s, 
willing to sacrifice myself to accommodate. 



130 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



From the "MAIL AND MAGNET," PLYMOUTH. 



CLIFFE M. BROOKE, Editor. 



Recentty, as the invited guest of G. W. Hered, the General Traveling Agent 
of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Raili^oad, and Col. J. M. Lough- 
borough, the gentlemanly Land Commissioner, we spent six of the happiest 
days of our existence in the glorious old State of Arkansas. Inasmuch as 
it is the earnest desire of the citizens of that great commonwealth, as well 
as the officers of the said railroad company, to have Arkansas shown up in 
her true light, so to speak, believing that by this means they might better 
encourage the emigration they covet, we shall take rather more than usual pains 
as well as pleasure in expressing our most hearty indorsement of that most 
worthy enterprise. 

Accompanying our invitation were passes over the Chicago & Alton Railroad 
to St. Louis and a letter of insti-uctiou, stating that an excursion train, consist- 
ing of five Pullman palace sleeping cars, one day coach and a baggage car, 
would leave the Southern depot in St. Louis on Tuesday evening of the follow- 
ing week. Accordingly did we make our calculations, but the fates willed it 
that we should miss the proper train in Chicago on Tuesday morning, so we 
laid over until the evening train, and then stowed ourself away in one of Pull- 
man's sleepers. Arising the next morning just as we were passing through 
Alton, the " dirtiest, wickedest " looking town in America (except Jefferson- 
ville, Ind.), we were seated to a delicate breakfast in one of Pullman's hotel 
cars that had been attached to the train. 

The road strikes the Mississippi river at this point, and following its banks for 
an hour longer we hove into East St. Louis. The reader has, perhaps, read of 
the great iron bridge over the Mississippi at this place, and we shall give no 
lengthy description of it. Unlike the usual drawbridge, it stands so high above 
the river that all vessels pass under. It is built after the " double-deck" plan, 
the railroad using the lower story, and the upper is used as a wagon toll-bridge. 
To ride over on the cars costs a passenger 25 cents. It is owned and operated 
by the St. Lo;iis Bridge Transfer Company, and connected with it is a tunnel 
under the city of St. Louis for about a mile to the Union Depot. 

Arriving here about eight o'clock, we took a 'bus for the office of the Superin- 
tendent of the Iron Mountain Railroad to get a pass and instructions how to 
overtake the excursion which we knew had left the night previous. Hurrying 
into the office of that affable dignitary, we stumbled against Col. J. M. Jackson, 
■of the Peru Daily Times. Dr. H. C. Coates, of the Valparaiso Messenger, Wm. 
R. Newmyer, of the Pittsburgh Advance^ and Judge G. W. CoUings, of the 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 131 

Rockville Indiana Patriot, who, like ourself, had missed connection in Indian- 
apolis or Terre Haute, and were now in the same fix as ourself. The Superinten- 
dent had been expecting us, as we had informed him by telegraph from Chicago 
that we would be late, so our passes were immediately provided, and after wish- 
ing us a pleasant journey he directed us to take the 10 a. m. train from the 
Southern depot, and overtake the excursionists about four o'clock the next 
morning at Malvern, 43 miles below Little Rock, where all would disembark and 
stage 26 miles over th6 hills to the famous Hot Springs. Thanking him for his 
attention, and assuring him that we would endeavor to keep the object of the 
excursion in view in giving our report, we all withdrew and proceeded to the 
depot. 

After spending an hour surveying the levee and the shipping, we boarded the 
train that was already jammed full. Before proceeding farther we will mention 
that we "kind o' took to" Col. Jackson, of the Peru Times, and at his sugges- 
tion we went in "cahoots" to the end of the journey. The Colonel went into 
the crowded car a few minutes before we did, and took a seat beside another 
fellow — ^the only vacant one left. As we came in, one glance convinced us that 
every seat was occupied, and that we must resort to some dodge to secure a seat 
unless we wanted to stand up all day and all night. The Colonel looked over 
his shoulder and winked down the car at us, and pointed at the chap who had 
given up half his seat to him. We understood the drift, and marching bravely 
up with as much courage as we could summon, we tapped him on the shoulder 
(grinding our teeth and trying to look savage) and accosted him as follows : 

' ' You will have to give up my seat. ' ' 

" The devil I will! That's what Brooks said. to Baxter nigh onto a year ago, 
an' he didn't," replied" the granger with suavity, as he hitched down farther into 
his possessions and drew his knees up against the back of the seat before him. 

Patting on a more determined air, we« resumed: " Come, I am in no humor 
for jesting, nor can you make this a game of bluff; if you don't give up my seat 
I will be compelled to call the conductor and use a more forcible argument. 
That's the kind of a hair-pin I am," with another yank at his shoulder. 

" Hey? Don't care a cuss ! Ain't one feller got jest as good right to a seat 
nor another, an' didn't I get'r fii'st?" 

" That is exactly the plan on which I claim this seat. "When my friend, the 
Honorable Colonel, who sits beside you, and myself came into this car and took 
this seat, we did so with the determination of keeping it together clear to Texas, 
and we swore an infernal oath that we would stand by one another till h — 1 
freezes over in the protection of our rights, and by the eternal jimminy Christ- 
mas we mean to do it, or we'll go out and kick ourself in three places. So you 
see you can save trouble and do. the fair thing by gi\'ing up this seat, to which I 
hold a prior claim, " said we, showing our teeth savagely as we unbuckled our 
Ulster duster and tossed it into the hat-rack. 

"But I ain't feelin' well, an' I been sufferin' wi' corns, an' I got a bile on my 
neck," claimed my antagonist, as he relinquished several points by taking his 
knees down and sitting up straight in his seat. 



132 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

"No difference. I've got one somewhere else, and the law of human endur- 
ance is no respecter of a boil's position. I want that seat in just a minute and 
a half now, or there will be one less passenger aboard this train, ' ' and we drew 
our skull-cap down over our ears and grabbed the bell-rope. 

" Of course there will," chimed in the Colonel ; " and besides, you're riding 
on a second-class ticket, and you've got red hair, and been eating onions, and 
no man with a boil on his neck can ride with me, ' ' and he drew up his nose a 
foot or two with an air of disgust. 

At this stage in the controversy the granger hitched about uneasily on the red 
plush cushion, and appeared in a state of conglomerated abstractedness, but he 
blurted out : 

" Did yer say I were in your seat ? Be this seat yoar'n ? ' ' 

"Didn't I say so?" said we, gritting our teeth till we shivered. 

"Which'n?" 

"This one." 

"Which end on't?" 

"This end of it." 

"Who said so?" 

" I say so, and you are in it." 

"^Vho?" 

"You." 

" How do you know ?" 

" How do I know?" I'll show you. In about ten seconds you will look like 
a mince-pie struck by lightning," and we jumped up again and caught the bell- 
rope, and yanked it three times the wrong way. 

"Just wait — ^you'll catch it — that will settle it," volunteered the Colonel, as 
he glared ferociously at the enemy, and then glanced back over his shoulder as 
if he were expecting the entrance of the train hands. \ 

"See hyar. Mister!" said the granger, turning to me. 

" Don't you mister me. It's no use. You're gone up." 

"In course ; but this are only a little joke," he declared, rising. "I knowed 
this were your seat all the time. It's your'n by rights, an' I can lick any man as 
says 'tain't. An' you shall have it. I seed yer an' the Kurnel hyar come in an' 
s'lect it more'n 'n'our afore train started out'n Saint Louie, an' when ye stepped 
out I jes' kep my eye on ye an' kem along an' sot down on't as big as bizness. 
I reckon' d I'd kep you out on't, but when a man comes along as will stick up 
fur his rights, why I orter cave. Take the seat — its your'n, an' it's my treat — • 
nothing mean about me. Here, have a chaw — reg'lar Kentucky leaf — raised it 
myself. I hve in Pike count}^, 'bove St. Louis — goin' to Poplar Bluff, 'tother 
side of Gad's Hill. Ye look like some more o' them 'ere Indiany editors' as went 
down last nite. Pertickler fine set, the Globe- Democrat sez, an' the railroad a 
totin' ye around free gratis, an' a stuffin' ye wi' high-toned wines an' wittles, an' 
when ye git back to Indiany ye are expected to blow the railroad up hier nor a 
kite wi' yer newspapers. Mout I ax ye what pertickler paper ye are fur? Mail 
and Magnet^ hey? Well, hang me, Mister Editor, if I hain't toted a many a one 



INDIANA COKRESPONDENCE. 133 

from town myself. Ye see nabor Brown's farm jines mine up in Pike county. 
Brown is from Indiany, ni' Plymouth, an' he hez always took yer paper reg'lar, 
an' I tote it from town to him a purty good 'eal. Recklect how 'e laffc an' laffc 
onct a readin' 'bout a lawyer a tryin' to lick the editor, an' the lawyer got a 
black eye. Sed he know'd 'em both, an' the lawyer wur considerable bigger nor 
the editor, but the editor wur the maddest. Yer paper hez got a picter at the 
top on't. Seed it a many a time. Allers jes' alike— man choppin' a tree down 
an' a buffler a chasin' a prairie-schooner. Hope ye hold no hard feelin's 'bout 
the seat, Mister Editor. 'Spect I done wrong, but I axes yer parding. I know'd 
it wur your'n, an' I kin lick any man as says I didn't. I'll skirmish around in 
'tother car an' see as I can find ary nother. Good-day, Mister Editor. Pleasant 
mornin', Kurnell. I know'd it wur your seat, an' I kin lick any man as says I 
didn't." With a defiant glance at the host of faces that were watching him, he 
stalked into the next car, and we sank exhausted into the seat beside the Colonel 
with a sigh of relief, amid the tittering of the rest of the passengers, who knew 
that neither the Colonel nor myself had ever been in the car before, and that we 
had cheated the granger out of his seat. 

The train thundered merrily along, keeping close to the Mississippi river for 
about 30 miles, passing through country that was chiefly composed of rocky 
bluflJs. One of the rocks was so large that it had to be tunneled a distance of 
800 feet. If we remember right, this rock is 17 miles south of St. Louis, and as 
we surveyed it we wondered why in the deuce nature wanted to put such a stum- 
bling-stone to advancement and leave no accessible way around it. With our eyes 
full of cinders, we stepped back into the car again and resumed our seat. We 
asked Col. Jackson what he thought of the soil in this part of the country, and 
he replied that according to his best judgment he thought if they would pick the 
stones out of it, and manure it a little, it probably would make good brick. 
Satisfied with his answer, we settled back in our seat and ' ' nodded ' ' ourself to 
sleep ; but not until we had remarked that if there was any danger of our getting 
so "cai^sastic" about a little thing, we believe we should commit "siacude" 
immediately or sooner. 

" Bismar-r-r-k ! Change cars for Belmont, Cairo 'n Columbus," rang in our 
ears, and we roused up from our tedious nap in time to hear somebody exclaim : 
"There he goes — look at 'im — see 'im !" Upon inquiring of the Colonel who it 
was that was causing so much wonderment, he pointed out a hatchet-faced indi- 
vidual that was getting off our train on to the Cairo train and said : "Why, there 
goes Jefferson Davis, ex-President of the busted Confederate Republic. He's 
been on the train from St. Louis with us, it seems, and they say he is going to 
Nash\'ille." 

Feeling just as well satisfied with our hasty glance at his phiz as if we had 
stared at him a week, we examined our time-piece and the railroad guide, and 
found that it was 13 minutes past one p. m., and that we were 75 miles south of 
St. Louis. The country here was quite mountainous, and six miles further the 
train halted in fall view of the famous Iron Mountain. We had heard so much 
about this mountain that our imagination had led us to expect rugged peaks 



134 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

reaching to the clouds, but we were reasonably disappointed. Iron Mountain 
proper rose up to the east of the track to a height of perhaps 500 or 600 feet. 
It was of very gradual slope, and was thinly covered with small scrubby-looking 
white oaks. From where we stood it looked as though about an acre in area of 
the extreme top was "bald," bearing no verdure at all, and looked like a great 
blue rock protruding from the earth. We are told this is almost solid iron, and 
that the whole mountain is just so — only covered with a few feet of reddish- 
colored earth towards the foot. Around it on all sides are other peaks of almost 
equal dimensions, the whole forming the richest and most extensive iron beds 
known to the world. To the southwest of the chiefest of these peaks lies the 
little town of Iron Mountain, scattered about wherever they can best find places 
for building. Here and there, in and about the ravines, columns of black 
smoke curl slowly heavenward, telling of forges and blast-furnaces almost innu- 
merable, turning out daily tons upon tons of pig-iron of the purest quality. 
Along the railroad track acre after acre is covered with pig-iron corded up like so 
much cord-wood. To our unsophisticated eye, it looked as though u'on sufficient 
had already been exhumed to last the next dozen years to come. The view from 
the train was magnificent, and we would liked to have spent a week examining 
and viewing Iron Mountain ; but we knew that if we intended to overtake the 
excursion train, we must stick to that train like puppy to a root. Our thoughts 
flew ahead to our editorial brethren who had been so lucky as to be on time. 
We knew they were that day enjoying the hospitality of the citizens of Little 
Rock, and that on the coming evening a grand reception was to be given them ; 
but we also knew that we were nearly 300 miles behind them, and we depended 
on the night's travel to catch up. A slap from the Colonel upon our shoulder 
recalled us to the realities of the situation. He pointed to the express car, where 
the train-men were unloading along box containing a corpse — somebody's dead — 
which they deposited carefully on the platform. Another pale, sunken face lay 
upturned toward heaven with a mute appeal for forgiveness, perhaps, for sins 
committed in the flesh. ' ' Father, I have sinned against heaven and before 
Thee, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son." Somebody would weep 
a last good-bye over a familiar face, dear to them, that never again would smile 
on their old home — Iron Mountain. 

Again we were "knocked into the middle of next week" by a slap on the 
other shoulder, and following the Colonel we clambered aboard, and the train 
Bped down around the mountain side, shutting out our view as well as our 
thoughts of the busy little village of Iron Mountain. 

Five nailes further on the train curved past the base of "Pilot Knob," another 
one of the iron range ; and still another three miles further we halted, and the 
brakeman roared, "Arcadia, twenty minutes for dinner!" Welcome sound. 
Pretty nearly the whole train-load filed along up a graveled walk to the hotel. 
And such a dinner ! May heaven bless that landlord. The tables were almost 
groaning under their load of tempting viands. All the delicacies as well as the 
substantial of the season were there, and everybody in general, and the Colonel 
and ourself in particvilar, seemed to enjoy the dinner. During our whole trip 



INDIANA CORKESPONDENCE. 135 

we did not find any place that ' ' set up ' ' such ' ' grub ' ' as Arcadia, and the 
Colonel wrung the hand of the genial old landlord (peace to his ashes), and 
showered blessings incoherently upon liim as he deposited his little fifty cents 
(bogus) in his palm. Glorious Arcadia! Happy landlord! Blay peace and 
prosperity be j'^ours. 

"Armed to the teeth" with genuine imported "Key Wests," we both sauntered 
into the smoking car, and the train moved on. Taking observations, we noticed 
we were then 89 miles south of St. Louis, and that the time was 2 :16 p. m. 

The Colonel remarked that eating chicken for dinner put him in mind of an 
old rooster he once had. He also was the " paternal parient" of a remarkably 
smart boy. His name was William. That rooster was extremely select in his 
company — so much so that he wouldn't associate at all with the rest of the 
chickens. Whether this rooster led this hermitage from choice, or whether some 
other more ambitious rooster had notified him to stay aloof, is not known ; but 
certain it is that he always wandered about alone. Bill had read in his Sunday- 
school books somewhere that "birds of a feather will flock together." We 
could imagine the Colonel's astonishment on coming home one day and espying 
that same rooster stalking about with but one long tail-feather waving proudly in 
the gentle breezes, but looking even more forlorn and lonely than before that boy 
had taken him in hand. The boy grew up, married and went to Congress. The 
rooster died of grief at the boy's sad fate. Bill also owned a brunette monkey^ 
and one day, when in Chicago, he saw a sailor with a parrot, and bought it of 
him. Bill took the parrot home. What the monkey thought when he fii"st saw 
that paiTot will never be known. Bill didn't know the parrot could speak one 
word of English, but he could. He heard the sailor say, "We've had a h — 1 of 
a time," and he had stored that away in the inmost recesses of his brain ready 
for use when occasion required it. Saturday night came, and Bill killed some 
chickens, and it was a regular matinee for the monkey to look on and see the 
feathers picked off. Sunday came, and the orb of day arose in gorgeous splen- 
dor, and kept doing it until Bill locked up his house and went to church. At 
noon Bill returned ; he was in a cheerful mood, because the hat had not been; 
passed around. He, with his family, entered the house, and they found th& 
parrot's cage-door open, and the parrot missing. They searched high and low 
for that parrot, but could not find him. The monkey was there, and seemed tO' 
be in excellent spirits. The family sat down to dinner, and just as the young 
'uns began to quarrel about who should have the "wish-bones" out of those 
chickens, a slight scratching noise was heard, and out from under an old lounge: 
that parrot crawled without one feather on his back ; and you can judge of the 
family's surprise when the poor, forlorn creature lifted up his head and exclaimed : 
"We've had a h — 1 of a time ! We've had a h — 1 of a time !" From appear- 
ances he told the truth. He and the monkey had. Although we have caused 
the story to appear in print since hearing it, we believe it originated with the 
Colonel, or rather his boy ' ' Bill. ' ' 

"Gad's 'il!" yelled the brakeman, and he slammed the door in time enoug'i 
to chop off the last letter. 



136 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

" Gad's Hill is a point of interest," said the Colonel, as we jumped off together, 
" on account of its beijig the point of the famous train robbery." 

^Nothing but a forest of dense and lonely-appearing woods, the only place 
itvhere we could see the sky being along the straight and narrow opening made 
loy the railroad line. The only mark ®f civilization within reach of the eye, 
laesides the train, was a post, with a sign nailed to it, telUng the inquisitive that 
this was the much-talk :d-about "Gad's Hill." After glancing over our shoulder 
to see if there were any villainous train robbers going for us, we again took our 
aeat, and went flj'ing onward. 

From this on nothing of interest occurred to mar the ' ' monotony ' ' of the 
clattering wheels, except an occasional stop to cool hot boxes. As the hours 
■dragged their weary length, these stops became more frequent, and finally it 
seemed as if nothing occurred to mar the ' ' cussed monotony ' ' of hot boxes but 
an occasional run of a few miles. The deepenmg shades of night settled down 
o'er the world, and left us still struggling with hot boxes. O'ertaxed nature 
asserted her rights, and the Colonel and ourself went tired and supperless into 
the sleeper, and to bed — we to sleep the sleep of the innocent, the Colonel to 
seek refuge from his conscience for passing the bogus fifty cents ; both supperless, 
Itecause the supper station was still three or fours hours away. The rumblmg 
wheels, the ever-swaying train, the Colonel's pleasant "Good-night, Major, and 
pleasant be thy dreams, ' ' from the lower berth, were the last things we remem- 
bered, as the gentle spirits and the engine wafted us away into the dreamy 
unconsciousness of a dark and uncertain futurity, an innocent and peaceful 
repose. And thus ended our second day. 

Thursday morning dawned bright and "on time," if the train wasn't, and we 
l)ounced out square upon one of the Colonel's corns which happened to be resting 
in the aisle. (Te-he. ) Gentle reader, you ought to have been there. The snort 
that came up from under those blankets would have frightened a rhinoceros of 
the largest calibre, as he jumped up and bumped his head against the upper 
Tjerth with sufficient force to floor him again. Poor Colonel ; gentle corn ! We 
assisted to untangle him from the blankets and sheets, endeavoring to explain 
the meanwhile ; but that didn't modify ^he ferocit}^ of the war-dance that fol- 
lowed, nor ease the discomfiture of the Colonel as he waltzed up and down that 
aisle with one foot in his lap. We made our escape from the front door, and 
sailed into the next car, and hunted up our other editorial brethren, i. e. Judge 
CoUings, of the Eockville Patriot, Capt. Newmyer, of the Pittsburgh Advance, 
and Dr. Coates, of the Valparaiso Messenger, none of whom had thought to 
secure berths in the sleeper, and had to sit up all night in a crowded car. Let 
, us not dwell on the miseries they must have suffered. Poor Colonel e^^dently 
was suffering miseries enough for all of us. To our sui'prise, instead of finding 
ourselves a good many miles beyond Little Rock, as we had expected to be, we 
still lacked about 100 miles of being there. We shall not attempt to relate 
tow many times we stopped with hot boxes before making that 100 miles. It 
was enough to try the patience of an angel. Nor shall we attempt to portray 
the expression of injured innocence depicted upon the Colonel's countenance. 



INDIANA. CORRESPONDENCE. 137 

as he greeted us with a half-savage smile when we went back to tell him the, 
situation. 

Slowly the time passed, until about 11 o'clock the Ai'kansas river was crossed, 
and supperless and breakfastless we drew into the beautiful city of Little Rock. 
A\^c all lost no time in answering the gong. Again we were happy. 

After we had satisfied the inner man, we closed our teeth on a fragrant "Kej" 
West," and took a stroll on the platform. Here we were found by G. W. Hered, 
the Traveling Agent of the Iron Mountain Railroad (and a perfect gentleman), 
who introduced us to G-en. Thomas Essex, Assistant Land Commissioner, and 
whom we also found to be a very pleasant gentleman. Mr. Hered told us that the 
party of editors had a grand time in Little Rock the day pre^dous, and that an 
immense reception was given them by the enterprising citizens of the city, fol- 
lowed by a banquet in true Southern style in the evening. They had departed 
that morning for Malvern, 43 miles south, where they would be loaded on flat 
cars of the partly constructed narrow-gauge railroad, and run back over the hills 
as far as the iron had been laid, a distance of nine miles, from whence they 
would go in stages to the Hot Springs. We were to stick to this train until 
Malvern was reached, where he had a special stage-coach ready for us, and we 
could reach the Springs by supper-time. The bell rang, and after securing a 
Little Rock Morning Gazette^ we bade these two benefactors of the craft editorial 
a hearty adieu, and sped on and out of sight of Little Rock. 

Here some of the prettiest countrj^ that wc ever gazed upon was laid open to 
our view — the valley of the Arkansas river. As heavy timber as we had ever seen 
in our Indiana forests towered toward the sky. Nearly all the varieties of timber 
that are usually found in the North are grown here, but the tall yellow pine pre- 
dominates. Corn and cotton fields stretched out on either hand, yielding 
enormous crops from these rich bottom-lands.. We had little else to do but sit 
and look from our palace-car windows on the panorama of nature flitting by ; 
and we thought that if health and wealth did not reward the efl'orts of the land- 
owner in such a garden spot, the fault must certainly lie with Jiim, and not the 
country. 

The Colonel nudged us and remarked that it was half-past one o'clock, the 
train was approaching Malvern, and we had "better brace up a leetle for dinner ;" 
and presently the train drew up beside a depot surrounded with perhaps a dozen 
houses. So this was the long-lookecl-for Malvern. The hotel was immediately 
across the street, and the five belated editors, and a goodly number of other 
passengers, wended their way thither. Before entering its portals we turned 
and took a last savage look at the train we had stuck to since Wednesday morn- 
ing, and on which we had based our hopes of overtaking our brethren of the 
quill at Malvern. Now we had 26 miles of staging over the mountains before we 
could reach them. It was just disappearing in the distance. Go it, old train! 
Distance lends enchantment to the Adew, anyhow. We part with 3*ou and your 
everlasting hot boxes now and forever, nor sigh nor regret to offer. 

A refreshing wash and a square dinner did much to revive and refresh us 
again, and we were soon ready for the mule stage that stood at the door. When 



138 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS 

we disembarked from the train we noticed that our Valparaiso editor, Dr. H. C. 
Coates, had got a piece of calico in tow, and in the dining-room we were made 
acquainted with her — Miss Jones, from Michigan, was going to the springs to 
recover her health. The doctor showed his preference for feminine society by- 
picking a seat in one of the stages beside Miss Jones and some other passengers, 
leaving only four of us to occupy the specially-prepared-jerk-lightningviouble- 
back-action-mule-stage-coach, Ai-ming ourselves with a supply of cigars and 
etceteras, and the driver with other perquisites, we tumbled in, and a "glang!" 
and a sharp crack of the whip sent the old s.-p.-j.-l.-d.-b.-a.-m.-s.-c- down into 
the forests of ' ' Arkansaw. ' ' 

The rapid gait maintained by the driver, and the rough roads over hills and 
through ravines, kept tlu-ee or four plug-hats bobbing around inside ; but we 
didn't get tired, for the novelty of the scenery and the ride were too much for 
that. Scarcely half a mile had been traversed until two wheels on one side ran 
into a "chuck-hole" and the old stage floundered clear over upon one side, throw- 
ing us all into confusion upon that side of the vehicle. The driver hung to 
his seat and "whaled" the mules, and ihe stage righted itself again, after 
waltzing along the roadside for a couple of rods. After regaining his seat and 
eying his mashed plug-hat, the Colonel poked his head from the door and asked 
the driver "if he wanted to fight?" The driver replied that he "didn't 
mind." The Colonel then inquired " what in the devil he was trj'ing to do?" 
Being assured by the driver that it was "only a little joke," he settled back again 
and divided his time between brushing his hat and keeping the perpendicular. 
Twelve miles of such jostling, and the s.-p.-j.-l.-d.-b.-a.-m.-s.-c. rolled up 
beside a stable and a "half-wa}^ house." Fresh mules were standing already 
harnessed, and were immediately put in place of the steaming and panting ones 
which had drawn us from Malvern. We had scarcely time to light a cigar ere 
the "glang" of the driver sent the old s. -p. -j. -(guess at the rest) rolhng and 
tumbling over the hills. Occasionally, as the Colonel's head would go " thump- 
it- ty-thump ' ' against the rail, or as he would stoop to recover his badly-damaged 
hat, we imagined we could see his eyes flash a little ' ' hell-fire and brimstone ' ' 
all to himself, as he probably meditated on the advisability of challenging the 
driver to " another fight." But few farms were along the route, and occasion- 
ally we would get a glimpse of domestic animal life in the shape of a pig or a 
cow. The queerest species of hogs we ever saw were the only kind brought to 
our notice in Arkansas. The Colonel said their ears were in the middle of their 
back, and all that was in front of the ears was snout, and all that was behind was 
tail. Whether he hurt himself any in getting this off we did not notice, but cer- 
tain it is that if our readers ever see Barnum's Hippodrome they should look for 
a specimen of the average Arkansas hog. He surely will find it there, for Bar- 
num never overlooks a living curiosity. 

The country began assuming a more ragged appearance, and the road wound 
in, out and around, wherever it could gain a footing. The speed of the coach 
had slackened somewhat, and the sun was still about an hour high, when a rough- 
looking individiial with a brace of bloody horse-pistols stuck in his boot-tops rode 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 13^ 

around the brow of a hill and commanded the driver to "halt ! " " Nary halt,"' 
yelled the driver, as he laid the long whip on the mules, and the old coach 
skipped by the stranger like a streak of greased lightning. The Colonel grabbed 
the Captain and we grabbed the Judge, and we all rolled over into the middle of 
the hack, and the hack rolled up and down, over and under hills and rocks, and 
the end was not yet. ' ' Whang ! ' ' went a pistol-shot, and immediately we all 
bunged oiu- heads together as each ducked his head involuntarily in anticipation 
of another. How we all cursed ou^rselves for ever setting foot in Arkansawl 
We had not bargained to meet robbers and highwaymen. Everything was con- 
fusion inside, and still the coach whirled along the narrow serpentine roadway. 
The road was so nan-ow the robber could not pass by the coach, and still the 
high rate of speed was kept up, with the rattling of the pursuer's horse's hoofs 
ringing in the air. 

For fully three miles did those four noble mules keep in advance of the enemy^ 
and then they wheeled squarely off to one side and drew up at a farm-house. 
And almost as soon did the robber stop also, but his hostile appearance had left 
him, and a broad grin surmounted his face. Then it popped through our stupid 
heads that this was another one of those "little jokes." We asked the Colonel 
what he was so scared about, and added that any man that would get frightened 
so badly about a little thing was a coward. He didn't say he wasn't frightened, 
because it happened to pop through his mind about little George Cherrytree and 
his Washington hatchet, so he merely retorted that we was ' ' another one, ' ' and 
that settled it. 

The driver asked us to get out a minute. We got out, and saw what the 
matter was. One of the hubs of the coach was smoking and sizzling like a fur- 
nace, the result of such constant rapid driving. So those hot boxes were still 
following us. We thought we had left them with the train, but here they were 
on an Arkansas stage-coach. Half an hour was consumed by the driver and the 
' ' robber ' ' in cooling it with water. It turned out that the ' ' robber ' ' was one of 
the Stage Company's men, sent on ahead for the purpose, when we stopped at 
the "half-way house," to get fresh mules. We piled in again and on we went. 
We wondered what next they would be trying. They might run us over a bluff 
and break our necks yet "just for a little joke." 

Twilight was deepening into the darker shades of night, and we were yet five 
miles from the springs. The driver "licked" the mules and whistled "Susan 
Jane " as we sped along, and we passengers were beginning to feel pretty tired 
now. Anticipating this, perhaps, the driver passed a large black bottle down. 
We declined, the Captain declined, and the Judge and Colonel eyed it longingly, 
pretty well mixed with suspicion, and declined also. Captain Newmyer and oui*- 
self declined from principle ; Colonel Jackson and Judge CoUings, too, declined 
from principle ; but then we suspect the fear that the driver had ' ' doctored ' ' it 
with about an ounce of strychnine (for a little joke) was the greatest incentive 
towards letting it alone. Thej^ didn't want an}^ more "little jokes" in theirs — 
rather wait till they got to Hot Springs and take it " straight." We passed it 
back to the driver again, thanked him, and told him the Colonel said the article 



140 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

was too much of a commodity at home ; we had come down there to get a drink 
of pure Plot Springs water, wliich was more of a novelty to him, and had greater i 
charms for us. (Colonel, is this "the unkindest cut of all?") 

At about 7.30 o'clock the glimmer of lights in the distance announced the close 
proximity of the village, and a few minutes later the s.-p.-j.-l.-d.-b.-a.-m.-s.-c. 
drew up with a whirl in front of the Arlington Hotel. We had reached them at 
hist. 

The surprise and astonishment with which we looked upon the city of Hot | 
Springs can scarcely be imagined. Surprise does not express it — ive were 
astounded. We had looked to see a little village of perhaps a hundred houses or 
cabins. We knew its geographical location, with no railroad at all, made it very 
difficult to reach. We knew that anybody or anything trying to reach it must 
be dragged over 26 miles of very hilly country, and what was reputed to be the 
roughest road in the United States. We had tried that, and didn't think very 
many invalids could survive the task. We had looked for third-class hotels, 
second-class doctors, and first-class invalids. 

We found a city lighted with gas, and supplied with about a dozen better 
hotels than many Northern cities of twice its size. We found a street railroad 
three miles long, and running upon it were cars that were only excelled by the 
Wabash avenue line of Chicago. We found a city large enough to support a 
daily paper, and last, though not least, we found seventy of the happiest editors 
in the world. 

The telegraph had informed them that we were following them, and when we 
unloaded there was a general hand-shaking all round. To meet so many familiar 
faces in the Arkansaw baclcwoods made us feel jolly. As we deposited our 
' ■ grip-sacks ' ' in the check-room and registered. Col. J. M. Loughborough, the 
Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, who 
had the party in charge, made his way to us, and, introducing himself, pinned a 
couple of blue ribbons on the lappel of our coats. We had noticed that the rest 
all wore such. On one was printed "Arkansas Editorial Excursion," and on 
the other, "Our Guests, Hot Springs, Ark." We were shown to our rooms, 
and after making our toilet about as bachelors do, were seated to a refreshing 
supper in the spacious dining-room of the Arlington. 

That over, we sauntered out to get a drink from the bubbling springs, which 
the Colonel termed the "de\'il's tea-pot." Though wonderful, the springs did 
not surprise us much, because we had read so much about them that we knew 
pretty nearly what they were. The hot water boiled up clear and pure, and it 
was comical to see half a dozen standing round with cups in their hands blowing 
and drinking it like hot tea. The Colonel "■ ' allowed ' ' he drank about a gallon 
of it, and we didn't say anything, though we wondered had his stomach ever met 
with such a surprise since he was a minor ? 

The citizens were going to give a grand ' ' blow-out ' ' that evening in honor of 
their guests, and right nobly did they succeed. The dining-room of the Arhng- 
ton was cleared of its tables and supplied with a "rostrum" and seats. Then 
about half-past eight the room began to fill with the " tone" of the city and the 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 141 

editors of the North. Speeches of welcome were made and answered, toasts 
were offered and responded to, and then beautiful programmes of the baU were 
handed us, and the room cleared to the merry music of the fiddle and the light 
fantastic toe. Cliampagne, lemonade and cigars were "set up" in abundance 
in the wine-room and were liberally patronized. Maybe we didn't enjoy our- 
selves that night at Hot Springs, but I guess we did. Tired and sleepy, at one 
o'clock we dragged the Colonel away from the seductive influences of the ball 
and wine-rooms, and were soon wrapped in the arms of Morpheus. Thus ended. 
our third day out. 

The morning dawned clear and bright, as it did every day during the trip, and 
as we had left orders to be awakened early, we were up before, the sun. We 
repaired to the bath-house connected with the Arlington, and enjoyed a warm 
bath with water which flowed direct from one of the springs. It was so hot that 
it took as much more cold water to reduce it to the proper temperature. 

After bath we took a survey of the city in company with the Judge, Colonel 
and Captain. Hot Springs is built betwen two rows of hills, that rise to a height 
of perhaps 200 or 300 feet. Along the inside of these hills the hot water bubbles 
out in numberless springs of greater or less magnitude. Some of them flow a, 
stream that we should think would fill a pipe six or seven inches in diameter. 
A few of them spout from the base of the hills, but the majority of them 
spring from the top or side ; by reason of this, water may be had at a great 
elevation, wlfich is an additional desideratum. The view from the hill-top was 
inspiring ; the serpentine creek, formed by the springs, -wound along beneath us 
in every conceivable direction, and along up tliese two spurs of hills the street- 
railroad picked its way, bridging the creek about every 100 yards. So close 
together are the two rows of hiUs, that room enough only is allowed for one street. 
and the row of buildings on either hand. On the hiU on which we stood had 
been erected a public bath-house for the use of those too poor to pay for baths 
at the more "tony" bath-houses below. We walked around this and dropped 
a quarter into the contribution-box at the door, from which it gets its support. 
Around all over the hills were tents and rude cabins occupied by the i)oor who 
courted the magic influences of the springs. We gazed down -upon the hotel,, 
and as we did so a " colored gemman" came out and pounded the gong. We 
slipped down the hill as best we could and went to breakfast. 

It had been announced the evening before that we should be ready to start at 
eight o'clock a. m. So promptly at that time the caravan of stages and car- 
riages were at the door and we loaded up. Luckily our same party got together 
in one of the open hacks, along with two or three other parties, one of whom 
we remember to be John H. Cherry, an attorney and a gentleman, from Little 
Rock. The programme for that day was to stage to the terminus of the nar- 
row-gauge railroad (17 miles) where the diminutive engine and cars would 
meet us and convey us to the junction at Malvern. We then were to run south 
to Arkadelphia, where the citizens would give us a grand barbecue in true 
Southern style. The caravan rattled along at a good pace, and had it not been 
for an accident we would all have reached the railroad in good time. The horsea 



142 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

to the coach, in which Dr. Coates, of the Valparaiso Messenger, and some others 
were riding, took fright and ran away. They ran for a considerable distance, the 
driver keeping them in the road and yelling to the other coaches ahead to clear 
the track. Three or four of the coaches ahead managed to get out of the way 
and let the runaway go tearing down the hill-side ; but one of them didn't. As he 
approached this the driver attempted to swing his horses out of the road. He 
made a semi-success of it, but one of his horses run his foot' through the great 
ponderous wheel of the coach it was about to pass, and the revolution of the 
wheel snapped the horse's foot square off, only leaving it attached to the leg by 
a small piece of skin. This threw them into the rail fence that lined the road, 
and the damaged horse was still further damaged by one of his jaws being ripped 
open by a fence-rail. The sheriff of Little Rock, who was with the party, put 
the horse out of its misery by a pistol-shot. An extra team was procured of the 
farmer into whose fence th&y had run, and thej^ I'igged this stage up with only 
three horses and drove along. Wliile they were fixing the disabled stage, we 
climbed out and secured a pocketful of ripe persimmons, the first we had ever 
seen, and another pocketful of " muscodines," a species of grape with which 
the country abounds. 

Reaching the railroad, with no further accidents, at about one o'clock, we had 
to wait a half hour before the ' ' diminutive train ' ' made its appearance, but when 
it did come we wasn't very long in loading up bag and baggage, and the funny 
little locomotive, with its funny little train of funny little flat cars, loaded up 
with funny little editors, gave a funny little shriek and started off. We shall 
never forget our ride over that narrow-gauge railroad. The scenery was pictur- 
esque and grand. The road, with its two lines of little blue rails, wound down 
around the side of the hills in every direction imaginable. The curves were 
numerous, and frequently so sharp that the whole train would completely double 
up, and the engineer could easily reach out and procure a chew of tobacco from 
the rear brakeman. At times the train would gain a frightful speed down some 
•declivity, and the little flat cars, with their wooden benches loaded with human 
freight, would rock to and fro over the unballasted road-bed, and as an occasional 
farm-house was passed, the natives could be seen rushing out to brush the flies 
off the track as the diminutive train rolled on in safety. One hour later we 
boarded the regular excursion train at Malvern, and immediatelj^ steamed off for 
Arkadelpliia, 22 miles distant. We shortly after crossed the Ouachita river, and 
half-past three o'clock found us at the depot in Arkadelpliia, as hungry as a 
catamount and as happy as a clam. We all itched to get at that barbecue, after 
having heard so much about it, and the gnawing in our ' ' bread-basket ' ' and 
visions of. savory oxen done to a turn did much to aggravate the matter. A 
ma-rch. of half a mile was before us yet, and a couple of citizens led the van to 
the scene of the slaughter. When nearly there we noticed a peculiar aroma 
pervading the air. The gentle breezes wafted another snift to our nasal appen- 
dage, and we tried to think what could raise such an odor. We had smeUed 
such a "smell " once before in oiu* time and we tried to place it. Oh ! yes ; we 
bad seen the ruins of Jordan's livery stable after the fire in the morning, a few 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 143 

3^ears since, in "our town," and the bodies of the roasted horses emitted just 
such a smell as this. Then somebody in Ai-kadelphia had lost their livery stable. 
Our heart .was filhng with pity for the unfortunate owner and curiosity to see the 
ruins, when the procession wheeled off into a grove and there was our barbecue. 
There upon a long table was piled hunks and joints of meat and stacks of bread, 
and all around it the air was blue with the smell of burned livery stables. The 
order was given to "lay on, McDuff," etc., and the work began. Some seemed 
to enjoy it. We tried a piece ; it was from the outside, and was salted and 
peppered so highly, and burned so completely, we gave it up after the first bite. 
Then we tried another piece. This was from the inside, and was red and raw 
and didn't have any seasoning to it at all. We didn't like this " a pretty good 
'eal" either. We looked down the table, and in front of Sam Winters, of the 
Huntington Democrat, was a leg-bone of the "critter" that had been cooked, 
and Sam was taking to it like a calf to a pan of milk. It looked like the leg- 
bone to a horse. How did we know what kind of a " critter" they had barbe- 
cued for us? It looked like horse and smelled like burned livery stables, and the 
leg-bone Sam was taking to looked just like the leg-bone of the horse we had killed 
that morning in the stage ! Ugh ! it might be the same horse. We went off and 
sat under a tree to think, wishing we had a cUnch clothes-pin on our nose. 

Shortly after our cannibalistic horse-eaters relinquished the table to the colored 
people, who were waiting round, and started for the train. Again aboard our 
palace cars, the train puffed out of Arkadelphia, whose good people had tried so 
hard to please us, and at the same time give us something new and novel. We 
thank them for their good intentions, however, if we couldn't do them justice ; 
but we still are of the opinion that we like our beef best roasted in an oven. 

The limit of the trip was pretty nearly reached, and the object of running the 
train below Arkadelphia was to show some of the larger cotton-fields. And some 
magnificent ones were shown, too. Mile after mile of glistening white cotton- 
fields lay on either hand, and the crop was just ready for picking. The train 
stopped on a plantation, and we got off and were shown the "ginning" process, 
which is separating the cotton from the seeds. We satisfied our curiosity in 
all these regards, and again boarded our train and put back to Ai-kadelphia 
for supper. 

Reaching this pleasant little town again, we sat down to supper at the railroad 
eating-house, after which speeches were made back and forth from the citizens 
to the editors, and from the editors to the citizens in return. As "our crowd" 
(we mean the original five belated ones) were short on the sleep question, we 
all repaired to the cars and turned in, leaving our brother quill-drivers to speak 
as long as they wanted to. We were lulled to sleep by the Colonel's sonorous 
nose music, and another, our fourth, day out was numbered with the past. 

"Mbbs, Mbbs, get up and hear the little birds sing their praises to God!" 
rang in our ears as the hand of the Colonel shook us to returning: consciousness. 
We arose, and while dressing wondered if our brother quill-drivers had got 
through speaking yet. From the way they went at it in the evening we thought 
each man was armed with enough speeches and resolutions to last a dozen 



144 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

excursions a year, and we went to our lonely^ and consequently virtuous, couch 
at Arkadelphia, leaving them to offer them as long as they could get anybody 
to listen to them. "We went to the platform and discovered that our train was 
standing quietly on the side-track ; but the gloomy walls of the State Prison, 
that loomed up to the right on the hill, told us this was Little Rock instead of 
Arkadelphia. Here was where the Colonel and ourself had resolved to spend 
the day. "We had missed seeing Little Rock by being late, and we decided to 
spend the day in viewing one of the handsomest cities in the South. The Mem- 
phis & Little Rock Railroad and the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad had ten- 
dered the craft a free ride over their lines that day, and both had special trains 
in waiting. The guests could take their choice, to go east or west, which they 
did, and about eight o'clock both trains steamed out to the right and left, leaving 
the Colonel and ourself alone on the platform. 

"We had a number of invitations from hastily-made acquaintances marked down 
in our note-books, and with them we spent the day very pleasantly driving about 
the cit}^, viewing the State Capitol, the Penitentiary, the Government Arsenal, 
the Robber's Boiv, and other points of interest. Little Rock is very beautifully 
situated high and dry on the south bank of the Ai-kansas river, which is nsivi- 
gable up to and even above here. The population we should judge to be about 
20,000 or 25,000, and the society is the best the nation affords. There are a 
great number of very tasty residences, with large lawns, that show care and cul- 
ture, and so many other conveniences that go far towards making a residence 
an agreeable and pleasant home. For our drive about the city and suburbs we 
have to thank Col. E. N. Hill, who tendered us his own carriage and himself as 
driver. The day was happily spent, and late in the evening we repahed to our 
temporary home — the train — with naught but kindness and gratitude in our heart 
for the citizens of Little Rock. We sat and smoked, with the Colonel spinning 
'' yarns," to a late hour, until the gentle angel hovering o'er us closed our eyes 
to the pleasures and joys of the fifth day of our pilgrimage. 

Nine o'clock next morning we opened our eyes and ears again to the reahties 
of this world ; and as we hadn't paid any particular attention to the demands of 
the "inner-man" since three o'clock the day before, we felt like we should be 
pleased to open oilr mouth to some of the substantial as well. "We turned over 
and drew aside the curtain, and the bright sunlight streamed into the berth. The 
deep rumble of the wheels and the rapidly flitting telegraph poles told us the 
train was again under way, and we were homeward bound. "V^'e climbed out, 
dressed, and found the Colonel still in the midst of his snores. It was our turn 
to awaken him now, and bless us, didn't we do it? 

Finding Capt. Newmyer, of the Pittsburgh Advance, we learned that they had 
got back into Little Rock about midnight, and that our train started immediately 
for St. Louis. Examining our watch we found it to be pretty near church time 
(Sunday), and the railroad guide said it was about a hundred miles yet to break- 
fast ; that was the worst. "We could miss church ; we had done that many a time, 
but breakfast, never ! Col. Loughborough had arranged that the train should 
move out of Little Rock about nine o'clock the previous evening, and telegraphed 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 145 

to Arcadia to have breakfast for us in the morning ; but the party that went 
west got in late, and it threw the whole train behind time. Then breakfast was 
at least four hours away yet. Heavings! how should we stand it? Captain 
■ Newmyer busied himself reading his bible, Judge CoUings and Dr. Coates went 
to sleep again, we studied the railway guide, and the Colonel sat at the window 
and contented himself by counting the mile-posts and singing, ' ' Sweet spirit, hear 
me swear." He declares to this day that he counted eleven million mile-posts 
in that four hours' ride ; but, dear reader, don't you believe this. 

The longest misery has its end, and in regular order Moark, Poplar Bluff, 
Gad's Hill and Des Arc were passed, and about two o'clock we stopped at the 
same eating-house that had served us such a good dinner on our down trip, at 
Arcadia. The same little landlord on whom the Colonel had passed his counter- 
feit 50 cents, came out and pounded the gong and we answered its summons, 
(to use a phrase that is more expressive than elegant) in "less'n no time." As 
we anticipated, the tables were loaded bountifully, and it was no trouble to do 
justice to the occasion. After dinner a meeting was held on the veranda, and 
short speeches were made, and resolutions were carried, voting thanks to all for 
our cordial treatment. This over, we steamed up and on. A short stop was 
made at Iron Mountain to enable such as desired it to get off and collect a 
few specimens. Again we moved on, and, with the exception of one or two halts 
for wood and water, no farther stops were made, until about half an hour after 
dark we drew into the city of St. Louis. Here the Colonel, Dr. Coates and 
ourself bade adieu to Col. Loughborough and G. W. Hered, the representa- 
tives of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and also to our 
newly-made yet warm friends, Capt. Newmyer and Judge Collings. We three 
were to leave St. Louis immediately for Chicago, and we drove at once to 
the Union Depot. All aboard with baggage checked, and the Illinois Central 
train crossed the great iron bridge and sped out on the broad prairies. The 
mantle of Eg3^ptian darkness settled down o'er the earth, the rumble of the 
wheels, to which we had become accustomed, seemed like music in our ears, and 
stowed away in our upper berth we dropped off into the unconsciousness of a 
deep and sweet repose. Thus endeth the sixth day of our journey. 

Arriving in Chicago at seven o'clock next morning, we parted with Dr. Coates, 
who left immediately on the first train for Valparaiso. The Colonel and ourself 
spent the day in the city, and in the evening left on separate trains for our 
respective homes — ^his in Peru, and ours in Plymouth. 

We cannot close without saying more than just a hollow "farewell" to our 
companions en route, and also to all the citizens of Hot Springs, Arkadelphia and 
Little Rock. Long live Arkansas, and we hope she may meet with such an influx 
of wealth and population as wiU place her, as she deserves to be, among the first 
of her sister States. To T. B. Mills & Co. and Col. J. M. Loughborough, G. 
W. Hered, and all connected with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railroad, we owe a debt of gratitude that our words may feebly express. Thev 
seek immigration for Arkansas ; may their labors be crowned with success com- 
mensurate with the demands of the State. In particular do we desire to thank. 
10 



146 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

G. W. Hered, of St. Louis ; Dr. T. F. Linde and Col. Rector, of Hot Springs ; 
Col. E. N. HLU and John H. Cherry, Esq., of Little Rock. To Judge Coliiugs, 
Dr. Coates, Capt. Newmyer, and last, though by no means least, Col. J. M. 
Jackson, " our pard," we say good-bye ; and we trust that the time may come 
when we all may meet on another excursion, if not to "Arkansaw," on a last 
and long excursion to another and a better world. May the star of hope and 
happiness ever gleam before you ! 



From THE "PERU REPUBLICAN.' 



J. M. JACKSOX, Correspondent. 



Peru, October 11, 1875. 

According to my promise I sit down to write you an account of my trip with 
the Arkansas Editorial Excursion. 

As your correspondent declined to go at the last moment, the subscriber 
armed with credentials saying I was a ' ' regular correspondent of the Peru Daily 
Times." I started on the 12.40 train for Indianapolis, Sept. 27. On arriving 
at the Hooiser capital I found I could not get transportation until eight o'clock, 
when the Superintendent of the Vandalia road would be in his office. I con- 
sequently was delayed until the 1.10 p. m. train. I arrived in St. Louis at 10.30 
the same evening — just in time to be about two hours behind the excursion. 
Finding I could not start earlier than 9 45 the next morning, I went to bed and 
slept as becometh a man with a quiet conscience. On going to the office of the 
Superintendent of the Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, I found Col. Brooke, 
of Plymouth, Major Collings, of Rockville, Dr. Cook, of Valparaiso, and Parson W. 
H. Newmyer, of Pittsburgh, Pa., the business editor of the Pittsburgh Advance. 
They were all, like me, behind time. Superintendent A. W. Soper provided us 
passes, and we went on our way rejoicing. We left the Plum street depot at 9.45 
A. M. , and proceeded southward, hoping to overtake the excui'sionists at Malvern, 
about 50 miles south of Little Rock. The road runs through a rough moun- 
tainous country, and at noon we stopped to dinner at Ai-cadia, Mo. This is a 
small station near the Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob country. Here we got 
the best dmner I ever saw at a railroad eating-house. After dinner we moved 
south through what I think a miserable country. Hills and rocks "'til you 
can't rest." About four o'clock we passed the classic hill of Mount Gad. I 
will not undertalce to describe this place, as most Peruvians know all about 
" Gad's Hill." While we were still passing through this rough country I took 
my berth and got a good night's rest, and on awakening in the morning I was 
informed by the porter that we were still 75 miles north of Little Rock. We 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 147 

had been delayed daring the night by what they called a "hot box." We 
reached Little Rock, however, in time for breakfast at the fashionable hour of 
10 o'clock. Here we found a telegram from Col. Loughborough to "keep our 
courage up and follow on." 

We met a number of army officers here to whom we were introduced, and 
when we offered to pay for our dinners we were told that '' all had been settled." 
We then went down to Malvern, and found dinner awaiting us— plenty to eat 
and nothing to pay. After dinner we started for Hot Springs by stage (26 
miles) which we made in about five hours. Here we found the excursionists, 
and a joUier, happier set of fellows I never met. We stopped at the Arlington, 
a house that for 'size wovild be a credit to Indianapolis. There are, I think, 20 
hotels, and almost every house is a boarding-house. The town has only one 
street, and is, I think, about two miles long and 300 feet wide, being built upon 
Hot Springs creek, which runs down a spur of the Ozark Mountains. This 
valley is getting to be a favorite resort for invalids, and will undoubtedly, at no 
distant day, be quite a city. The great drawback to this place is want of title 
to property. A claim of four miles square, covering the entire village, is in con- 
troversy, with little prospect of an early settlement. The people are all squat- 
ters, and have no maj'-or, marshal, or city officers of any kind. The people of 
this place gave us a warm reception ; they kept us in hot water for a few minutes, 
but I think wq felt the better and cleaner for it. 

The address of welcome by Col. J. M. Harrell was one of the nicest things I 
have ever heard, and was responded to by Gen. Pierce on the part of the excur- 
sionists. The proceedings wound up with a dance, which was a magnificent 
affair, judging from the expressions of those who took part. 

We were indeed "guests of the village." Hotels, livery stables, everything 
was free, and the citizens vied with each other in showing us attention. 

The springs themselves I cannot describe only by saj^ing they are about 50 in 
number. The one by the Ai'lington, I think, would furnish water for all Peru. 
The water in this spring is too hot to drink rapidly when first dipped, but has no 
bad effects on the stomach. It is said to be better than ice-water to allay thirst, 
and from experience I believe it. 

On the morning of Oct. 1st we embarked on board of stages, buggies, wagons, 
and all manner of wheeled conveyances for the terminus of the narrow-gauge 
railway in course of construction from Malvern to the springs. Arri^dng at 
Malvern, we found our train awaiting us ; we got aboard and ran down to 
Ai'kadelphia, the county seat of Clark county. Here they had roasted an ox 
and killed the fatted calf. Everything was cold, however, as we were two hours 
late in getting down- 

The programme was for us to run down after dinner to Texarkana, Texas, and 
we afterwards learned they had made extensive preparation for us, but we found 
we could not go everywhere we were invited, so after dinner Col. Loughborough 
proposed that we run down towards the Texas line into the cotton-fields, and 
return at dark and spend the evening in speech-making, as we hari several fall of 
tall?:. This was carried out, and in the evening speeches were made by the 



148 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Ciceros of Arkadelphia, and responded to by Mr. Thomas, of Chicago ; Robin- 
son, of Fort Wayne, and others ; in fact, I could not stand so much bloviation, 
but took my bei'th, and awakened at Little Rock next morning. The next day 
the party divided, one party going east over the Memphis road, and the others 
west over the Fort Smith road, to examine the coal regions. Mr. Brooke, of 
Plymouth, and myself remained at Little Rock and took in the city generally. 

Little Rock claims a population of 21,000. There are many good business 
houses and handsome residences, but not so many as one would expect of the 
State capital. It is situated on a river navigable for steamboats, and with rail- 
roads north, south, east and west. The great drawback to this city — and the 
State, as I think — is the State debt (seven or eight millions) piled up by the 
carpet-baggers, the most infamous set of thieves that ever cursed any country. 
To say the people here are wilhng for Northern men to come down and live 
among them does not express it ; they are anxious, and think that a large emi- 
gration from the North is their only hope. They have a country rich in agricul- 
tural and mineral wealth, that only lacks the enterprise and capital of the North 
to develop it into one of the richest States in the Union. I think there can be 
no doubt that the people of Arkansas are unanimous in their desire to have 
Northern emigration, and will welcome all who may seek homes among them in 
that generous and hospitable manner for which Southerners are proverbially and 
truthfully celebrated. And now I must speak of our journey 

HOMEWARD. 

About midnight, Saturday, Oct. 3d, we started on our return from Little 
Rock, consequently about 150 of us did not go to church. We arrived at St. 
Louis about 6.30 p.m., and at 7.30 left for Chicago via Illinois Central Railway, 
at which place we arrived in time for breakfast. After visiting the Chicago 
Exposition and other sights, at eight o'clock in the evening I bade good-night to 
Maj. C. M. Brooke, who had been our companion during the trip, and came 
home via Logansport on the Pan-Handle road, and arrived at home Tuesday 
morning. 



From the "KOKOMO DEMOCRAT." 



J. N. GRESS, COKRE-PONDENT. 



Accepting the invitation of Hon. J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills & Co., 
of Little Rock, as special reporter of the Democrat, to join in an editorial excur- 
sion from the Northwestern States to Arkansas, we left Kokomo on the 27 th of 
September, and arrived in St. Louis at 2.45 the same day, where we found Messrs. 
Loughborough and Mills awaiting the arrival of their guests. It is proper right 
here to tell the Democrat readers who these men are, and 



INDIANA CORRKSPONDENCE. 149 



THE OBJECT OF THIS EXCURSION. 



Col. Loughborough is the Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern Raikoad, formerly known as two roads, St. Louis & Iron Mountain, 
and the old Cairo & Fulton Railroad. This road runs nearly on an air-line from 
St. Louis to Texarkana (Tex-Ark. ), on the boundary line of Texas and Arkan- 
sas, from which it derives its name. The road has a land grant embracing about 
2,500,000 acres, and covering some of the best lands in the State. Col. T. B. 
Mills is from Topeka, Kansas, a citizen of Arkansas for the last thi-ee years, and 
now engaged largely in the real estate business. These gentlemen conceived 
the public-spirited idea of inviting the editors from the Northwestern States to 
visit Arkansas and write up their impressions of her soil, climate, people, pro- 
ducts, mines, etc. Col. Loughborough represents the railroad company, and 
his efforts met the hearty approval of Hon. Thomas Allen, President. For many 
years the most false and infamous reports have gone abroad concerning this 
State, and people looked upon all reports from this source with suspicion. These 
gentlemen very rightly judged that if the Northern press could become aware of 
the correct status here, that great good w^ould be accomplished, for .the people 
would believe the reports made by their home editors. Therefore, these gentle- 
men were no more interested in this excursion than any other citizen of the State 
of like property interests ; but they had the enterprise to spend their money in a 
cause that they hoped would inure to the benefit of the whole State, taking their 
chances for being benefited thereby. 

THE START FROM ST. LOUIS. 

But to resume. On our arrival in St. Louis we found a large and jolly party 
of nearly 100 editors and representatives of papers from the States of 
Ohio, Penns^dvania, Michigan, Indiana, Ilhnois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri 
and Kansas. The largest delegation was from Indiana, there being about 20 
papers represented, the writer the only one from Kokomo. The train of Pull- 
man palace cars, tendered gratuitously to the " shovers of the quill," left St. 
Louis at nine o'clock p. m. of the 28th of September, and in their elegant sleeping- 
berths enjoyed a good sleep, awaking about the time the train reached Moark 
(Mo-Ark. ), on the line of Missouri and Arkansas. At eight o'clock the train 
reached Walnut Ridge, wdiere a good substantial breakfast was served by Mr. 
Henry Boas, and no cashier appeared to demand the usual "six bits." On 
southward we rolled at the rate of 20 miles an hour, through a country suscep- 
tible of as grand possibilities as any land under the sun. From the time we 
entered the State we rode through a vh*gin forest whose wealth of timber is incal- 
culable. Its soil is one vast alluvial "drift," and when the sunlight is let in 
upon it, and the hand of cultivation has called forth its hidden treasures, it will 
present one of the best agricultural areas in the Union. Arkansas is emphati- 
cally a timber State. Along the line of this road, for a distance of 360 miles, it 
is almost one continual stretch of forest. True, there are some fine prairie lands, 
of which we shall speak hereafter. 



150 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



AT LITTLE ROCK 



We arrived at Little Rock at 2.10 p. m. of the 29th, and were surprised to find 
at least a hundred carriages^ ready to receive us and bear us away to hospitable 
homes, where we were entertained in the most liberal style of Southern chivalry. 
Notwithstanding the hotels were all open and free, the citizens would not let 
them have a single editor ; and if there had been a thousand they would have 
found an ample lodgment in the hearts and homes of this beautiful city. After 
dinner we were taken in carriages over the city, shown the rooms of the Chamber 
of Commerce, where are being gathered specimens and products for the great 
Centennial show. And right here let us say there is no State in the Union that 
glows with a more perfect blaze of enthusiasm in the coming Centennial than 
Arkansas. In the Chamber of Commerce we saw apples measuring 15^ inches 
and weighing 24|^ ounces, peas measuring 16 inches and weighing 30 ounces, 
pumpkins weighing 95 pounds, potatoes 8 pounds, and one mammoth cucumber 
weighing 57 pounds ; the finest wheat, oats and grasses we ever saw ; oats with 
heads 22 inches long, timothy heads 10 inches long, and Hungarian millet that 
would produce eight tons to the acre. Corn was here with stalks 19 feet high 
and ears 17 inches long containing 18 rows of corn. Can the world beat it? 
At night a 

GRAND COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET 

was given in Concordia Hall, a very large, beautiful and commodious hall, where 
300 sat down to as fine a repast as was ever spread at Delmonico's. The table 
was adorned with bouquets, and wines, both native and foreign, added their 
spirit to the occasion. The toasts were typical of the generous feelings shared, 
seemingly, by every citizen of Arkansas. 

We cannot take the time nor space to describe at length the feast and generous 
attentions of these people. They seem enthused with the idea that the North- 
ern people may know them as they are, and not as the lawless violators of peace 
and order they have hitherto been painted by the Radical thugs, who, through 
fraud, ruled this State, 

At 12 o'clock, midnight, the banquet terminated, and we repaired to our lux- 
urious sleepers, and were again moved south some 45 miles and awoke at Mal- 
vern, where another good breakfast awaited us. 

OVERLAND BY COACH. 

After breakfast we embarked on flat cars for the famous Hot Springs, and were 
taken 10 miles over the narrow-gauge railroad now being built, and which will 
be completed by Christmas. This road will be 22 miles long and will connect 
the Springs with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern. The trip is now 
made by hacks and four-horse Concord coaches. At the end of this completed 
part of this narrow-gauge road we found 30 carriages drawn by about 100 
horses ready to take us the remaining 15 miles. The country is a wild, romantic, 
broken region, with steep hills that are far more agreeable to talk and write 
about than to travel over in a stage coach. But our party, which numbered by 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. I 151 

this time about 175, were not to be discomfited by a dusty, jolting ride of three 
hours' duration. In fact, it was a contrast that gave zest and increased enjoy- 
ment to all our after-trips. These hills are covered with primeval forests of oak, 
hickory, pine and ash, interspersed here and there with beautiful little farms that 
occupy the fertile valleys. This stretch of country, from Malvern to the Hot 
Springs, will never be worth much as a farming region, except for fruit and 
grapes ; but its capacity for these cannot be estimated. 

THE FAIVIOUS HOT SPRINGS. 

At one o'clock p. m. we drove into the famous Baden-Baden of America. Hot 
Springs, we should judge, has about 3,000 population, and is visited by 10,000 
persons annually who come to seek relief from its healing waters. It has one 
long winding street which follows the sinuosities of Hot Springs creek for about 
two miles, and upon which nearly all the business is done. There are 60 hot 
springs, covering not over 40 acres in extent, and the gathered volume of 
water shows that they discharge nearly 500 gallons of water per minute. There 
were about 800 visitors at the springs at this time, but the influx of Northern 
patients does not set in until near November. 

Every phase of nervous disease seems to yield to the curative virtues of these 
springs, while for chronic rheumatism, scrofula, paralysis, mercurial and syphilitic 
diseases, they are a sure specific. The mountains rise to the height of 600 feet 
above the vallej^ on either side, and a more charmingly romantic spot is seldom 
seen. Fifty of the crowd were entertained at the Hot Springs Hotel, 50 at the 
Ai-lington, and the balance found open houses and warm hearts at the other 
hotels and private houses. 

FASHION AT THE HOTELS. 

It was my good fortune to be the guest of the Arlington, the largest and finest 
house here. It has 130 rooms, cost $35,000, and sets as fine a table as the 
Palmer or Grand Pacific of Chicago. The Hot Springs House is next in size, 
and is one of the best hotels in the Southwest. The Arlington is kejDt by S. H. 
Stitt & Co., Col. Pugg being the "Co." The dinner at two o'clock was a repast 
fit for the gods. The oneim embraced about 100 dishes, and the wines were of the 
finest brands. "Green Seal," "Golden Seal," "Verzenay," "Moselle," "Heid- 
sieck," "Imperial," were among the "spiritual blessings" which were showered 
upon us. Supper was but a repetition of this lavish hospitality. At nine o'clock 
the grand reception took place in the great dining-hall of the Arhngton, and our 
pen fails to even attempt to paint the brilHant scene. The address of welcome 
was made by Col. J. M. Harrell, who wore the grey in "the late unpleasant- 
ness," and was responded to by Geii. H, A. Pierce, who wore the blue during 
that time. The speeches were eloquent with good feehng. Resolutions of thanks 
were offered, and then a grand ball was given. There were about 150 ladies 
present, and for beauty, elegance of dress and sparkling wit they made us feel 
as though we were back in old Indiana. The next day we returned to Malvern, 
went south to Arkadelphia, inspected some fine 



152 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

COTTON PLANTATIONS, 

had a big "barbecue," with lots of speeches, and returned to Little Rock that 
night. The next morning the party divided, one-half going over the Memphis & 
Little Rock Railroad, the others going west over the Little Rock & Fort Smith 
Railroad. The hospitahties were still kept up on the same generous scale, and a 
description of them would be but a repetition. Both of these last named rail- 
roads were very generous in their courtesies, .and the Fort Smith road, by its 
Superintendent, Capt. Theo. Hartman, provided their guests mth an elegant 
supper at RusseUville. This letter is already too long, and yet not a tithe of the 
interesting incidents have been told. We must not close, however, without 
giving you 

THE POLITICAL STATUS. 

Arkansas is Democratic by 50,000 majority, and since her people have succeeded 
in overthrowing the Clayton ring of vampires that have for six years robbed and 
ruined the State, peace has come down like a benediction, and prosperity marks 
every phase of her life. Gov. Garland is an able lawyer, and is a wise, conserva- 
tive Governor. No better man could have been selected for the position. He 
had no animosities to gratify, and he is leading the State up out of the valley 
of death into which carpet-bag RadicaUsm plunged her. She now holds out 
her hands to all the world, and asks them to seek her genial clime, her fertile 
soil, and share in the glorious prospects of her future. The entire excursion 
party is perfectly enthusiastic over the State, the people, the chmate, soil and 
productions. , 



FROM THE "HUNTINGTON HERALD." 



U. D. COLE, COKRESPONDENT. 



At nine o'clock on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 28th, we proceeded to the 
Union Depot, St. Louis, where the enterprising managers of the excursion had 
provided for the editors a train of magnificent Pullman cars belonging to the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. Each individual took a berth, which 
he retained throughout the trip. 

We soon left the city far behind, with all its varied and conflicting interests, 
its rushing business, its teeming population, its factories, shops, palatial resi- 
dences and splendid public buildings. Our course lay many miles close, along 
the banks of the broad Mississippi, and to one looking out of the car win- 
dow into the dim light, it seemed almost certain that we must soon rush into the 
deep waters rolling noiselessly so near us. But such reflections gradually gave 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 153 

way to a sense of security as we smoothly and swiftly proceeded. The bright 
lights of the furnaces at Carondelet attracted attention momentarily, then the 
unbroken forests of Southeastern Missouri began to pass dimly before the eye, 
and at last, lulled by the gentle motion of the train, each traveler slowlj- resigned^ 
himself to balmy sleep, 

" Tired nature's sweet restorer." 

DayUght found us at the verge of Arkansas. And here it may be well to remark 
that aU natives, residents of, and travelers to that State pronounce the word 
Ai'-kan-saw. Usage, at least, must make it the preferable pronunciation, and 
to many it has the superior euphony 

RAILROADS. 

By consulting a map the reader will observe that the St. Louis, Iron Mountain 
& Southern Railroad starts in at the northeastern corner of the State, crosses the 
entire State, and passes out at the southwest corner. This splendid road has 
been opened only about three years in its entire length. It forms the main 
artery of the Arkansas railroad system, all other roads being in a certain sense 
tributary to it. It is abundantly equipped, and is under most efficient manage- 
ment. The Government made it a donation of 2,000,000 acres of land in the 
State of Arkansas, most of which lies directly on the line, and comprises some 
of the best agricultiu-al and mineral lands in the State. The Company is selling 
their lands at prices ranging from $2 to $10 per acre, on long time and low 
interest. 

The next most important railroad line is that running from Memphis, on the 
east side, to Fort Smith, on the west side of the State. This crosses the Iron 
Mountain road at Little Rock. Other railways have been projected and work 
done on some of them. But it is probable that few more roads will be com- 
pleted before emigration has turned its tide into the State and thus supplied a 
population and business sufficient to insure a profitable investment. 

I should not fail, however, to refer to the Hot Springs Railroad, a narrow- 
gauge road running from Malvern, a station on the Ii'on Mountain line, west- 
ward to the famous Hot Springs. This road is now running trains nine miles 
out from Malvern, and it is expected that the entire line will be completed in a 
few months. We had long had great curiosity to see a narrow-gauge railroad, 
in order to judge of its capacity and see what its appearance might be ; that 
curiosity was fully gratified. The road is to be some 25 miles long. Its course 
hes in a mountainous region, but by following streams and valleys much heavy 
grading has been avoided. We were informed that the contract for grading the 
road and laying down the ties was let at $65,000 ; less than $3,000 per mile, in 
a very rough country. The track is about three feet wide, and the engine and 
cars are proportionately less than on ordinary roads. The managers had pro- 
vided a train of flat cars for our accommodation, on which we rode to the end of 
the track, and, so far as speed and safety were concerned, we discovered no 
difference between this and other railwaj^s. The cheapness of this kind of rail; 
road, and its efficiency for all practical work, make their early construction 



154 • THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

throughout the country a certainty. There is no reason why there should not 
be a general system of narrow-gauge roads connecting all the more important 
towns with each other. Their cost does not greatly exceed that of gravel roads, 
while their usefulness is infinitely greater. 

■ The Hot Springs road is a private enterprise, Mr. Joseph Reynolds, of Chicago, 
having undertaken its construction with his own private means. It will no doubt 
prove g. profitable investment to him, besides being of inestimable value to the 
country through which it passes. 

We entered Arkansas at the northeast corner. The village at the Missouri 
line bears the barbarous title of Moark — a contraction of the words Missouri and 
Arkansas. At the southwest corner we find Texarkana, composed of Texas and 
Arkansas, presenting a beautiful example of the adaptation of means to the end. 

In our journeyings we had abundant opportunity to investigate the quantity 
and qualit}' of the 

TIMBER 

of the State. The northern half is covered with a heavy forest, composed of oak, 
ash, cypress, gum, hickory, pine and some walnut trees. The southern half 
contains prairies in the eastern part, interspersed with fine groves, and the 
western part is all timber. A new tree to us is the bois d'arc, somewhat resem- 
bling hickory in its qualities, which is found in the southwest. The other 
varieties are similar to those of the northern half of the State. In quantity of 
timber it seems the State does not differ much from the heavily timbered sections 
of Indiana. There appears to be about the same number of large trees to the 
acre as we have here, except in the pine regions, where an estimate of 100 saw 
trees to the acre would, perhaps, not be an exaggeration. The pine is confined 
to the hill country, which comprises almost the entire western half of the State. 
This region is penetrated by the Hot Springs, Little Rock & Fort Smith and Iron 
Mountain Railroads, and by several navigable rivers, including the Arkansas, 
Ouachita and Red. In the eastern half of the State are the Iron Mountain and 
Memphis & Little Rock Railroads, and the Mississippi, Arkansas, "White, St. 
Francis, Cache and Salina rivers. With such means of transportation there will 
be no difficulty in reaching a market with all the timber that even Ai-kansas can 
furnish. 

In giving such information as we could gather regarding the State, we natu- 
rally turn from timber to the 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

To state the case briefly, they raise everything in Arkansas that we can raise in 
the North, and cotton in addition. Corn yields from 40 to 60 bushels per acre, 
wheat 20 to 30 bushels, potatoes 128 bushels, tobacco 666 pounds, sweet pota- 
toes 150 bushels, and h^iy IJ tons. The soil is generally light and sandy, the 
black alluvial deposits prevailing along all the streams and on the prairies. The 
cotton crop, however, is the thing of greatest importance. It used to be claimed 
that ' ' cotton was king, ' ' and in truth the saying was almost correct so far as 
agricultural productions are concerned. No crop raised in the South yields so 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 155 

fine a return, and none finds so sure and speedy a market. From this fact arose 
a system of agriculture -wliich, while it yielded handsome profits, tended to nar- 
row the energies of the people and retard the development of their resources. 
I was informed by a wealthy old planter at Arkadelphia that their system before 
the war was to raise little grain, but great quantities of cotton ; to invest the 
proceeds of their crop in "niggers," and thus raise more cotton and buy still 
more "niggers." He said they did not allow non-slaveholders to settle in the 
country. "But now," said he, "we see the follj^ of that course, and many of 
us are turning our attention to grains." 

The best cotton-lands in Ai'kansas are south of the Memphis & Fort Smith 
Railroad, and they yield on an average one bale to the acre. A bale of cotton 
generally contains 500 pounds, and is this year worth $62.50 at the gin. One 
man can cultivate 10 acres of cotton readily, besides raising some corn. 

The cotton crop of the State for 1871, which is the latest report at hand, 
amounted to nearly $30,000,000. With the introduction of better machinery 
and more systematic labor, the cotton crop of Arkansas must grow to enormous 
proportions. 

The grass-raising interest of the State is fast developing. On the prairies east 
of Little Rock two and a half tons of timothy hay to the acre have been raised 
by ex-Governor Hadley. In conversation with him, he detailed an experiment 
he had made with four acres of timothy, resulting in 10 tons of hay worth $20 
per ton. He is this year engaged in cutting hay on the prairies, which yields 
from the spontaneous growth one ton to the acre, on which he nets $7 per ton, 
having no trouble with it except to cut and bale it. The Governor is originally 
from New York, but has been in Arkansas 15 years. Like the ancient Cincin- 
natus, he has retired from politics to the quiet of farm life, and is introducing 
fine stock into the State and generally taking care of his ' ' patch, ' ' consisting of 
2,500 acres of land. 

ALL KINDS OF FRUIT 

grow luxuriantly in Arkansas. At various points in the State we were shown 
specimens of apples, pears, peaches, grapes, plums, etc. One pear weighed two 
pounds three ounces, and several apples of two pounds were shown us. On the 
mountains between Hot Springs and Malvern we made a personal inspection of 
an orchard, and obtained a hatful of peaches and fine rambo apples. The pro- 
prietor, who had the veritable house of the "Arkansaw Traveler," on being pre- 
sented with a quarter, gave us the freedom of his orchard and also of a specially 
fine collection which was stored in a box under his pole-bed. We departed fully 
convinced of the fruitfulness of Arkansas. 

STOCK-RAISING 

is a branch of farming industry which can be carried on in this State most suc- 
cessfully. Cattle can live all the year on the pasturage, and require no other 
feeding. A species of cane grows in the forests and on the low lands, which is 
said to be extremely nutritious and wholesome, and of which the cattle are very 
fond. This supplies them with abundant food, and may be cultivated to supply 



156 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

tliem after the ranges are all occupied. I was informed, by a gentleman at For- 
rest City, of a farmer who had 300 three-year-old cattle that had not cost him to 
exceed $2 per head, and this was expended for salt and some little herding ; they 
had grown up on the prairie and in the river bottoms. I thought it was no won- 
der the Southern farmers became lazy, since they could make a living so easily. 
If the fine stockers of the North were introduced, and care given to the growth 
and improvement of cattle, Arkansas would soon rank with the first States of the 
Union in that branch of farming enterprise. 

THE CLIMATE 

of this State is mild and salubrious. No better evidence of this is needed than 
the style of the houses in the country. Underpinning seems to be unknown, 
and very few houses are plastered. Of course such habitations would not answer 
in a cold climate. The average temperature at Little Rock for the months of 
December, January and February is 43 deg. 3 min. Think of that, reader, next 
January, when your thermometer touches 20 deg. below zero. In the summer 
months — June, July and August — the mean temperature at Little Rock is 79 deg. 
1 min. Plowing may be done every month in the year, we were informed, while 
farm planting generally commences in March. Great advantage must accrue to 
the husbandman in having so long a time to cultivate and save his crops. 

THE LANDS 

of Arkansas are yet very cheap. Although the State has been admitted to the 
Union since 1836, it is still comparatively unpopulated ; nothing strikes the trav- 
eler more forcibly than the unsettled condition of the State. The counties 
average probably 5,000 inhabitants, scattered over wide extents of country. 
But little of the land is cultivated, millions of acres being wholly unoccupied and 
waiting for settlers. Large tracts have '.been held by men whose incomes did not 
enable them even to pay taxes, as their lands produced them nothing. They 
were emphatically "land-poor," and many of them have allowed their lands to 
go back to the State. Prices now range from $2 to $10 ; the best kind of timber 
lands can be bought for $2, while the prairies generally average somewhat higher. 
The time for such bargains is, however, rapidly passing. As the tide of immi- 
gration turns towai'ds the State, prices must rapidly advance, and some choice 
lands will rate there as high as in the well-settled States now. 

THE MINERALS 

of Ai'kaxisas are destined to become enormously valuable. Coal and iron abound 
among the hills of the west and northwestern parts, and are in such close prox- 
imity as to render manufacturing in the highest degree profitable. The coal- 
fields embrace an estimated area of 12,000 square miles, and the beds are from 
four to nine feet in thickness. Such a supply can probably never be exhausted ; 
while, from the ease of mining and the ready means of transportation by the 
numerous navigable rivers and railroads, the exportation of coal must become a 
most profitable business. In quality the coal of Arkansas is claimed to be fully 
equal to that of Pennsylvania or the far-famed manufacturing coal of this State. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 157 

Lead, zinc, salt, marble, whet and hone stone, limestone, slate and othei- 
valuable minerals and rock formations are found in great abundance. 
A subject of interest to immigrants is that of 

TAXES. 

Official reports show that a great majority of the counties have very light indebt- 
edness, and some of them none at all. Property is rated low, and a law provides 
that State assessments shall not in any one year exceed one per cent. I was 
informed that the total taxation for State and county purposes does not exceed 
25 mills on the dollar of valuation. At present taxes are not high ; what they 
may be hereafter depends, of course, upon the nature of the improvements to be 
made and the economy of the officials. 

Doubts are sometimes expressed concerning the state of society and the 

TEMPER OF THE PEOPLE. 

So far as we could discover, the people of the State are now entirely peaceable 
and law-abiding. The generally conceived idea of an Arkansian is a tall, raw- 
boned, long-haired genius, dressed in brbwn homespun, and equipped with a 
six-foot rifle, a navy revolver and a bowie-knife. Although we looked for him, 
our search was in vain, at least so far as the deadly weapons were concerned. 
The time was when the prevailing opinion was correct ; but many of the old 
customs have passed away, and carrying arms and deadly affrays have gone with 
them. The people of the State are fully aroused to the importance of having their 
waste lands settled up. They perceive that they must induce immigration to 
their State. Population is their want. Hence their policy and conduct has 
changed, and I have reason to believe that every man who goes there to peace- 
ably build up his own fortune, and make himself a home, will be most cordially 
received by both old and new residents. Indeed, it will not be long before the 
new residents will outnumber the old. Even now the population is largely com- 
posed of people who have comparatively recently settled in the State. 

Throughout our journey we were received in the most hospitable and friendly 
manner, and the people vied with each other in assuring us of their good will, and 
their desire that Northern men would come and settle among them. Especially 
strong were these manifestations among the old inhabitants — those who went into 
the rebellion and did their utmost to establish the Southern Confederacy. We 
met many of their leaders, and they were all of one mind on this subject. 

The State of Arkansas offers many more inducements to emigrants than can 
be enumerated here. Chief among them is the cheapness of the lands. A forty- 
acre tract in this county will buy a half section there, of just as good land, and 
equally well timbered. The rise in the value of real estate there must be rapid. 
Public attention is now being fast turned in that direction, and a few years will 
see a great change in prices. Nevertheless, I would not urge any man to sell 
here on my Statement alone. Let every one go and see for himself. The country 
is its own recommendation. 



158 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



THE TOWNS 



of the State are objects of no less interest than the country. Arkansas does not 
possess such thriving villages and towns as are scattered so thickly throughout 
the North. The average county seat contains about 500 inhabitants, and the 
improvements of the village are proportioned to the population. In fact, the 
whole State is new and undeveloped. The most important town is 

LITTLE ROCK, 

situated very near the centre of the State, on the Ai'kansas river, and at the 
junction of three important railroads. At the close of the war it had 3,000 
inhabitants ; its present population is probably 15,000 strong. As a commercial 
and manufacturing city it must, at no distant day, become of very great impor- 
tance. In point of geographical advantages it is superior to Indianapohs, in 
that it has a much more extensive territory to deal with. The Arkansas river is 
navigable for large boats at all times of the year, and the raikoads in every direc- 
tion furnish the most ample means of transportation. These advantages, properly 
improved, will make it the equal of Indianapolis, with which it is often compared. 
Many Northern people have already settled there, and are gi\'ing the place some- 
what of the activity they have been accustomed to. Real estate is comparatively 
cheap as yet. The usual Protestant churches are represented here, as well as 
the Catholic, and public schools are already provided. 

The General Government has here a splendid park, containing several ancient- 
looking brick buildings, in which are quartered a detachment of regular troops. 
Major Wainwright, in command, kindly showed us the grounds and buildings,, 
while Major Rosencranz, a Swedish nobleman, who distinguished himself in our 
late war on Gen. Meade's staff, regaled us with the story of Totten's surrender 
of Little Rock to the rebels, and his subsequent disgraceful career. AU this in 
broken English, but with the most Idndly effort to please. These gentlemen 
explained to us, as we took a view of the country from the top of the building, 
that Little Rock received its name from the comparatively small rock on which 
the city is situated ; while Big Rock, which appeared to be a mountain to us, was 
visible several miles distant to the north. The view from the top of the Arsenal 
was truly enchanting. Mountains, plains and the Ai-kansas river stretching away 
to the east and north, its clear waters reflecting the setting sun, the city 
beneath us, the cotton-fields and the green forests, all combined to make the 
scene one of beauty long to be remembered. 

White in Little Rock Col. Winter (everybody in Arkansas has a title, and 
none are less than Colonel) and myself were the guests of Judge Wilshire. The 
Judge -v^ent to Arkansas as the Colonel of an Illinois regiment. After the war 
he remained there, and his good qualities have secured him promotion to the 
Supreme Bench of that State and now to Congress. He is a whole-souled, gener- 
ous man, meriting his success, and is doing good work for his State in Congress. 
His p; ial y is cheap transportation, which he conceives will be secured by 
inipruvii.L'" the navigadon of their rivers. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 159 

On the evening of our arrival the citizens of Little Rock tendered the editors 
a grand banquet. Many of the leading men of the State were present, and all 
joined heartily in welcoming the Northern visitors. Speeches were made by 
many, great quantities of eatables disappeared, and occasionally somebody was 
seen to look into a wine-glass ; but all remained duly sober, though gay. 

The banquet over, we returned to our berths on the train, and were soon 
on the way to 

HOT SPRINGS. 

This town was reached at two o'clock p. m., September 29th, after a most 
interesting ride of 20 miles in coaches over mountain roads. The springs, from 
which the town takes its name, are truly most wonderful. There are over 50 of 
them, the waters varying in degi'ees of heat from 100 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. 
Eggs may be boiled in the springs in the usual three minutes, and the water is 
too hot to bear the hand in. The waters are drank warm, and used for bathing, 
and are said to produce many astonishing cures. They are prescribed for all 
nervous complaints, neuralgia, rheumatism and urinal disorders ; but are on 
no account permitted to persons with pulmonary diseases. Many thousands of 
invalids visit the springs annually, notwithstanding the hardships of the mountain 
roads — a difficulty which fortunately is soon to be removed by the completion of 
the narrow-gauge railroad. Hundreds of poor wretches drag themselves on foot 
to these fountains of life, and once there, live by begging of their more fortunate 
fellow-sufferers, while their diseases are healed by bathing and di'inking the waters. 
Seeing these springs, one can understand how the afflicted sought the pool of 
Siloam, and waited for the moving of the waters, into which they were thrust at 
the moment the angel's presence gave the signal. One of the springs here boils 
up every few minutes, the water coming up in sparkling bubbles, giving forth 
heat and vapor like steam. Thus we understand what was meant by ' ' the mov- 
ing of the waters. ' ' It was easy for the credulous and superstitious people to 
think an angel visited a place so full of good to suffering mankind. 

The village of Hot Springs is situated in a valley scarcely 50 yards wide. It 
has but one street, for the excellent reason that there is no room for more. Very 
high hills rise abruptly over the town on all sides, giving it the appearance, as 
we imagined, of a Swiss or Italian \T.llage. Certainly the natural beauty of the 
location cannot be surpassed. Splendid hotels and boarding-houses abound, 
and every accommodation is supplied to the afflicted. 

At present the ownership of the springs is in dispute, the General Government 
being supposed to have the best title. The question will be settled in the United 
States Supreme Court, it is hoped, this winter. If the Government owns the 
property, it is to be desired that the water of these wonderful springs may be 
made free to all, under proper regulations. A gift of nature, capable of being 
made so beneficial to mankind, ought, if possible, to be so controlled that all. 
the afflicted may enjoy its sakitary effects. Nor should a few persons be per- 
mitted to reap a harvest of gold from the sale of that which should be donated 
to all. 



160 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS, 

Th& people of Hot Springs, like those of all the other towns we visited, were 
most hospitable and kind. They entertained the whole party of ^asitors in the 
•most generous manner, and gave every assurance of a hearty welcome to all 
Northern people who would come and live among them. We had the good for- 
tune to be quartered with Mr. A. B. Smith, of the Guinn House, whom we can 
most heartily recommend to all visitors to the springs. Mr. Smith is building a 
hotel at a cost of $30,000, which promises to be the finest in the valley. 

Leaving the springs with many most pleasant impressions of the place and the 
people, we returned to Malvern, the nearest station on the Iron Mountain road, 
and were rapidly carried thence to 

ARKADELPHIA, 

the county seat of Clark, the third county southwest of Little Rock- This is an 
important town, containing some 2,000 inhabitants, and is the trading centre of 
a large extent of country. The lands here are among the richest of the State, 
and are especially adapted to corn and cotton. The best improved farms can 
be had for $10 per acre, while unimproved lands are plenty at $2. We visited 
the corn and cotton fields. To many of the party growing cotton was a novelty, 
and the sight inspired them with enthusiasm. Numbers rushed into the fields, 
and nothing less than the largest stock would satisfy them. It is doilbtful 
whether any of the stocks there pulled up ever reached the North. Forty 
bushels of corn and one bale of cotton is the average yield per acre of land here. 

The excursion party was entertained at Arkadelphia with a barbecue in the 
grove near the town, and speeches by various gentlemen, both from the North 
and South, occupied several hours. 

Leaving this place, we returned to Little Rock, where our party divided, part 
going west on the Fort Smith road, the rest taking the eastern route toward 
Memphis. Preferring the latter course, we passed through the counties of 
Pulaski, Lonoke, Prairie, Monroe and St. Francis. This is mostly a prairie 
country, and appeared to be the best part of the State. It is only of late years 
that the value of the prairies has been understood, the natives supposing that 
they produce nothing but grass. This delusion has been dispelled, and thriving 
towns are now springing up along the railroad, and the land is being rapidly 
purchased for farms. This will undoubtedly be the garden of Arkansas, the 
rich prairies affording most ample inducements for raising corn, wheat, cotton, 
fruit and cattle. 

The principal villages along our route were Lonoke, in the county of same 
name; Carlisle and Devall's Bluff, in Prairie county; and Forrest City, in St. 
Francis. Other small places are scattered along the road, a- d aU of them are 
growing quite rapidly. Carlisle is the residence of ex-Gov. Hadley, who has a 
splendid farm of 2,500 acres, and is engaged in raising stock and cutting hay. 

Devall's Bluff, on White river, was a place of note during the war, and it is 
said that Union soldiers here were the first to demonstrate the value of the 
prairie grass. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 161 

Forrest City is a flourishing little town with a most promising future. A num 
ber of Northern men have engaged in business here, prominent among whom is 
Mr. A. B. Avery, and all have been very successful. 

The principal towns in the northern part of the State through which we passed 
were Newport, in Jackson, and Judsonia in White counties. Both are small but 
promising villages. The latter is the seat of Judsonia College, a Baptist institu- 
tion of learning, which is in a flourishing condition and gives promise of great 
usefulness to the State. 

Returning from Forrest City, we left Little Rock on our return North on Sun- 
day morning, Oct. 3d, and reached St. Louis the same evening. Crossing the 
broad prairies of Illinois the next day, we reached Indianapolis, and thence camie 
home on Tuesday, the 5th. So ended the Editorial Excursion to Arkansas, one 
of the most enjoyable of the many trips taken by the fraternity of late years. 

We greatly enjoyed the short acquaintance and companionship of the friendly 
quill-drivers. They numbered about 100, and represented many of the leading 
papers of the Northwest. Among those whom we were more particularly asso- 
ciated with, and whom we shall remember with pleasure, were Hon. Jacob 
Stottler, of the News^ Emporia, Kan. ; W. J. Craig, of the Bluflfton Banner ; E. B. 
McPherson, of the Wabash Plaindealer ; S. F. Winter, of the Huntington Demo- 
crat; Col. P. S. Parks, of the Martinsville Republican ; S. S. Jack, of the Tribune^ 
Decatur, 111. ; and Chas. Jonas, of the Sclavie (the oldest Bohemian paper in. 
the United States), Racine, Wis. 

Mr. T. B. Mills and Hon. J. M. Loughborough, of Little Rock, were 
unremitting in their eflTorts to make the excursion successful and pleasant, 
and to them we refer all who desire further information regarding the railroad 
and other lands of Arkansas. 



From the "MARTINSVILLE REPUBLICAN." 



p. S. PARKS, Correspondent. 



At the invitation of the officers of the St. Louis, Iron Moiintain & Southern 
Railroad Company, and T. B. Mills & Co. , publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas^ 
a small delegation of members of the press met at Indianapolis on the evening of 
September 27th, and boarding the magnificent cars of the old and popular Van- 
dalia line, were speedily whirled toward the metropolis of the Southwest. After 
a comfortable night's rest, we found ourselves approaching St. Louis, over the 
magnificent bridge which spans the Mississippi at that city. Here we were joined 
by others on the same mission, and the day was profitably spent in sight-seeing. 
11 



162 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

St. Louis is truly a great and wonderful place. It has none of the flash and 
dash of Chicago, but is substantial in all its appointments. In the evening of 
the 28th we left the city on a train of PuUman palace cars, over the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern Raih-oad. We breakfasted at Walnut Eidge, in Clay- 
ton county, Ai-kausas. Our next stop was at Judsonia, the seat of the Baptist 
University, which is said to be in a flourishing condition. Here a banner was 
flung to the breeze, upon which was inscribed: "Welcome — The pen is might- 
ier than the sword," to which four-fifths of the delegation were prepared to 
respond had time been allowed. The country through Arkansas, so far as seen 
from the railroad, is high rollijig clay land, with a wilderness of timber, princi- 
pally oak, gum and hickory. The settlements are few and far between ; but we 
were informed that this state of affairs arose from the fact that the road was thus 
located in order to get the greatest amount of land along the route, and that a 
few miles back, on each side, the country was thickly settled. 

The party arrived at Little Rock about one p. m^ and was met at the depot by 
a delegation of citizens in carriages, who took us under their protection to their 
respective homes. We had the good fortune to be assigned to Mr. J, N. Smithee, 
Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands, at whose pleasant residence we 
were welcomed with all the cordiality of Southern hospitality. Mr. Smithee is a 
gentleman to the manor born, an old editor, and from his long familiarity with 
the workings of his office, has a fund of information for all those desiring to 
investigate the resources of the State. After a superb dinner. Mi". Smithee took 
us all over the city and several miles in the country, pointing out to us places of 
interest, such as the U. S. Ai'senal, National Cemetery, Blind Asylum, Peniten- 
tiary, Deaf and Dumb Asylum, State House, churches, etc. We were shown, 
near the city, as fine cotton as grows, just ready for picking, which was raised 
by convict labor. Some of it had reached an altitude of seven feet, and was 
rated at two bales per acre. Little Rock is a beautiful city of some 30,000 
inhabitants, situated on a commanding blufl^" on the right bank of the Arkansas 
river, and takes its name from a small rock at the landing, in contradistinction 
to a larger one a httle higher up the stream. The people seem to be full of 
energy. The surrounding country is rich. The climate is the finest on the con- 
tinent, with unexceptional water and railroad facilities. It is plain to be seen 
that Little Rock will be one of the largest and most flourishing cities of the 
great Southwest at no very remote future. A complimentary banquet was 
given to the delegation by the citizens at Concordia Hall, which was beauti- 
fully decorated for the occasion. Col. Loughborough presided, and Gen. 
Newton made the initial speech. It was full of words of welcome and 
patriotic allusions. He was followed by other residents of the city, and 
responses were made by several of the delegation, until the hall rang with 
eloquence ; in fact, wine, wit and wisdom ruled the hour, interspersed with 
music and other gastronomic (no pun) displays worthy of the superb "lay-out." 
At an eai-ly hour the fall delegation sought their respective couches on the train, 
destined for Malvern, some 40 miles south. Here we were transferred to a train 
of narrow-gauge cars, which took us nine miles into the wilderness, where we 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 163 

were met by a miscellaneous collection of vehicles, ranging from the old-fash- 
ioned stage coach to the common road wagon, and driven to Hot Springs, a 
distance of 16 miles, over about the worst road in America. 

Arriving at the springs, our bruises Avere speedily forgotten by a warm bath 
and a hearty welcome from the citizens of the town. This place constitutes one 
of the wonders of the world. The town, containing about 3,000 inhabitants, has 
but one street, and is situated in a valley between two spurs of the Ozark moun- 
tains. The hot springs issue forth from the western slope, elevated some 1,400 
feet above the level of the sea ; the most of them from 50 to 100 feet above the 
valley, while a few are near the margin of the creek and several within its bed. 
There are 58 springs, varying in temperature from 93 deg. to 150 deg. Fahr. 
Several of these will cook an egg in J 5 minutes, or scald a hog. They make 
a natural discharge of 335 gallons per minute. The Ufe-giving' qualities of these 
waters have been famous for j'.ears. They are particularly efficacious in the 
treatment of gout, chronic rheumatism, contraction of the joints, syi:)hilis, neur- 
algia, paralysis, diseases of the skin, functional diseases of the uterus, and 
chronic poisoning by metals, but they are positively injurious in affections of the 
heart or brain or dropsies of the lungs. Neat bath-houses are numerous, where 
hot and cold water can be served to suit the bather, besides a number of mud- 
baths, which are said to be equally beneficial. All the water which comes from 
the mountain on the east side is hot, while all from that on the west side is cold. 
This hot water is drank in large quantities by invalids in connection with the 
bath, and is said to quench the thirst better than cold water. It is proper to 
add, however, that it takes some time for the invaUd to become educated in 
taking ''his'nhot." We made the experiment, and came near heaving Jonah 
on two spoonfuls. That was doubtless the case, because the water is entirely 
tasteless and inodorous. The buildings of the town are not very pretentious, 
although it is said to be three miles long by 300 yards wide. This state of affairs 
does not arise from supposititious earthquakes, but because the property embrac- 
ing the springs is in dispute, three distinct parties claiming the land as against 
the United States. 

Our stay was wound up by magnificent hops at the Ai'lington Hotel and Hot 
Springs House, and after a good night's rest we were off for Malvern and down 
the road to Arkadelphia, where a huge old-fashioned barbecue awaited us. This 
is a promising town of about 1,200 inhabitants, and is situated in a beautiful and 
fertile country. The manner in which the hungry excursionists tackled the 
provender so generously provided was astonishing. Back again to Little Rock, 
where our party separated, a portion going down the river toward Memphis, and 
the remainder journeying up toward Fort Smith. On Sunday morning the party 
is again united, and we start for our homes. By this arrangement the portion of 
the road we passed over at night is traversed in daylight. Among the noted 
places thus seen were Gad's Hill, where a brutal robbery of a train and the 
murder of the engineer in charge occurred some months ago, and the Iron Moun- 
tain, another one of the wonders of the world. We arrive at St. Loviis at seven p.m. 
on Sunday and at Indianapolis at four a.m. on Monday, having been on the wing 



164 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

one entire week without an accident or jar to mar the pleasure of one of the most 
enjoyable excursions of the season. Arkansas (pronounced Arkahsaw by the 
natives) is one of tlie best favored States of the Union. It lies between the 
parallels 33 deg. and 36 deg. 30 min. north latitude, and extends through five 
degrees of longitude, giving it one of the most salubrious climates on the conti- 
nent. The vernal mean at Little Rock for 1871 was 72 deg. ; summer mean, 80 
deg. ; autumn mean, 50 deg. ; and winter mean, 50 deg. 

Arkansas is abundantly supplied with water. Besides innumerable springs 
and small streams, she has more than her share of navigable streams — the 
Mississippi, St. Francis, "White, Black, Arkansas, Ouachita (pronounced 
Washita), and Red rivers. Of the 73 counties in the State, 51 are watered 
by navigable streams, thus affording a navigable highway within the State of 
3,000 miles. Her lands are diversified into lofty mountains, elevated plateaus, 
rolling prairies and level bottoms. She is, perhaps, the best timbered State in 
the Union — embracing oak of all kinds, hickory, walnut, cedar, pine, locust, 
cypress, pecan, beech, poplar, ash, plum, cottonwood, sycamore, gum and hem- 
lock. The hard wood, such as oak, hickory, &c., is found in the northern part 
of the State ; while pine, hemlock, &c., prevail in the southern. 

In regard to minerals, it is claimed that immense fields of coal abound ; while 
limestone, slate, whetstone rock, lead, copper, zinc, manganese', gyjDsum, marl, 
fire, pipe and potters' clay are known to exist in paying quantities. Little, how- 
ever, has been done in mining, but with proper energy and capital, Arkansas 
may yet be known as a great mineral region. It is her agricultural resources 
upon which her people rely. In the way of growing articles of food, it is 
asserted that Arkansas can produce all the cereals from Michigan to the tropics. 
In textile fabrics, they have cotton, wool, hemp, jute and flax — cotton being king. 
The average cash value per acre in 1871 was: Corn, $25.44; wheat, $14.04; 
rye, $18.20; oats, $14.63; cotton, $60; potatoes, $116.23; hay, $22.50; 
tobacco, $101.89. Besides being the home of the grape, the State is peculiarly 
adapted to fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, nec- 
tarines and berries of all kinds. For stock-raising the country cannot be 
excelled. The immense amount of natural pasturage afl'ords nutriment to stock 
the year round — ^beei^es being kiUed in the winter, direct from the bottoms and 
cane-brakes. 

The system of public schools is still in its infancy; but ample provisions 
are made by law for their maintenance. The constitution requires that ' ' the 
General Assembly shall provide by law that every child of sufficient mental 
and physisal ability shall attend the public schools during the period between 
the ages of five and eighteen years, for a term equivalent to three years, 
unless educated by other means." It is also provided that white and colored 
children shall be educated in separate schools. From a circular issued by 
the Commissioner of Immigration and State Lands, we learn that the State 
had on the 11th of March, 1875, under her control and most of it for disposal, 
the following land: 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 165 

ACRES. 

Swamp and overflowed 29,404 

Saline 1G,204 

Internal improvement 195 ,474 

Saline lands 26,035 

Real estate bank 8,753 

Forfeited for taxes 1,034,393 

Total 1 , 307 , 268 

And in addition, the following will be in her possession : 

Unconfirmed swamp 1,000,000 

Unconfirmed seminary 6,223 

Unconfirmed internal improvement 119 

Swamp land claimed by Mississippi, Ouachita and Red River Railroad 275,600 

Making a grand total of 2,589,210 

This is in addition to the lands yearly forfeited for taxes, and the 16th section 
lands donated by Congress for school purposes. As a rule, these lands are all 
susceptible of cultivation — many of them being the finest lands in the State. The 
swamp lands are sold at $2 per acre, and the internal improvement, saline and 
seminary lands at $3 per acre cash. 

The school lands sell for $2, on a credit of eight years, with 10 per cent, inter- 
est, payable in advance, only one-foui'th of the purchase-money being required 
to be paid down. The forfeited lands are disposed of on payment of the taxes 
due, or donated to actual settlers. Every head of a family is entitled to 160 
acres, and to an additional 160 acres for his minor children. The applicant must 
be a hona fide citizen of the State, and must reside upon and cultivate three 
acres of land, or in lieu of such residence, must, within 18 months, place, or 
cause to be placed, in readiness for cultivation five acres, before a certificate 
shall issue to him. Payment for lands of the State may be made in the paper of 
the State. Capital exceeding $2,000 invested in manufacturing or mining is 
exempted from taxation for seven years, from October 30th, 1874, and .the law 
of the State exempts 160 acres of land and $2,000 of personal property from 
taxes. There are also over 7,000,000 acres of Government land in the State 
subject to a homestead of 160 acres. 

In addition, various grants of land have been made to railroad companies. 
The most prominent of these is the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Rail- 
road Company. This company owns 2,500,000 acres of fine agricultural, stock- 
raising, fruit-growing and timbered land, situated in alternate sections on each 
side of the road, and embracing every variety of soil, climate and productions to 
be found in Arkansas. The title to these lands comes directly from the Govern- 
ment, and will be conveyed to purchasers free from incumbrance. The terms are as 
follows : On 10 years' time, at the rate of six per cent, interest per annum. First 
payment at time of purchase will be the interest on the whole amount of purchase- 
money for first year. Second payment at the beginning of second year will be 
the interest on the whole amount of purchase-money for second year. Third 
payment at the beginning of third year will be, first, one-ninth of the purchase- 



166 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

money ; second, the interest on the remainder of the purchase-money for that 
year, and so on ; at the beginning of each succeeding year, one-ninth of the whole 
purchase-money, and the interest on the remainder thereof for one year, until all 
is paid, making 10 years in all. Terms No. 2 : One-fourth of the purchase- 
money, and interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum on the remainder for 
one year, at time of purchase ; the balance in one, two and three years, with 
interest at same rate, payable annually in advance. Terms No. 3 : All the 
purchase-money at the time of the purchase. To those purchasing on terms No. 
2, a discount of 10 per cent,, and those purchasing on terms No. 3 a discount of 
20 per cent, from the price of the land. 

Eound trip tickets over this road to any place in Arkansas, with the privilege 
of stopping off at any point, will be sold to land expforers at greatly reduced 
rates, by applying at the company's office, northwest corner of Fifth and Market 
streets, St. Louis, Mo., or to J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner, Little 
Rock, Ark. The citizens of Arkansas with whom we came in contact were pleas- 
ant and polite, and each one seemed to vie with the otheV in showing us the 
resources and advantages of their wonderful State. They say that their domestic 
difficulties are permanently settled, and what they want is Northern energy 
and capital. To any persons, with or without capital, seeking a new home, 
we can cheerfully recommend Arkansas as the acme of their hopes and the 
realization of their dreams. 



FROM THE '"WABASH FREE TRADER." 



J. C. RIDGWAY, CORKESPONDENT. 



Little Rock, October 7, 187.5. 

Your correspondent has been rusticating for the last four days in this much 
misunderstood land of fertihty and flowers. We were too late to join the great 
excursion of Northern editors who, through the liberality and enterprise of the 
Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Moun- 
tain & Southern Railroad, and Col. T. B. Mills, one of the most public-spirited 
citizens of Arkansas, have been taking a look at the wonderful natural resources 
of this State. The day we arrived was the last day of the excursion in Arkansas, 
and the company, numbering about 150, divided, one-half going over the Mem- 
phis & Little Rock Railroad to Forrest City, 95 miles, and the other going over 
the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad to the celebrated Spadra coal mines, 100 
miles west of here. The editors are perfectly enthusiastic over the State, as 
most everybody else is who has visited the State this year. The people have 
been wild with delight at the opportunity thus presented of showing to their 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 167 

brethren of the North that Arkansas is peaceable, law-abiding, and desirous of 
immigration. Here a magnificent banquet was given them, and th whole city 
was clamoring for an opportunity to extend hospitality. From here the party 
went to Hot Springs, whose fame is becoming world-wide, and where Senator 
Morton has sought relief several times. There the most generous welcome 
awaited them, and their coming was made an occasion of festivities that would 
honor any of the large cities of the North. 

Col. T. B. Mills is a real estate dealer who believes in making the State known 
and his courtesy to strangers, whether they purchase or not, wins the hearts of 
all who visit his office. He has established a free reading-room, where can be 
found a thousand different daily and weekly papers from every State in the Union. 
There are 60 from Indiana, 100 from Illinois, 30 from Iowa, 35 from Georgia, 
30 from California, 45 from Massachusetts, etc. , etc. What would you think 
of such individual enterprise as that in Wabash ? 

You will ask me what I think of Arkansas ? The half has not been told to her 
credit. I had heard of her big wheat, oats, etc., but the specimens I have seen 
exceed all reports. I have seen cotton so high that I could but just reach the 
tops on horseback ; corn 19 feet high; oats 7 feet high, with heads 22 inches 
long ; apples weighing 24} oz. ; and pears weighing 30i oz. Coal, said to be 
the finest in the world, and minerals are found here in abundance. The climate 
at this season is most dehghtful. The people seem cheerful, kind and hospitable. 
The only thing lacking is schools in the country. They have good schools in all 
towns, and with immigration will come schools and churches. You cannot have 
all these things and have cheap lands. I have bought me a small farm of 200 
acres of as fine land as any in the Wabash Valley — 160 acres prairie and 40 acres 
woodland ; such land can be bought from $2 to $4 per acre.. I shall return in a 
few days and will bring some of the products to show to the unbelieving. I 
think this is the great fruit land of America, and to any of my friends who con- 
template visiting the South, I say go by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & South- 
ern Railroad, and don't fail to call at Little Rock and see the free reading-room 
of Col. T. B. Mills and the magnificent collection of grains, grasses and fruits 
now being gathered for the great Centennial exhibition at Philadelphia. 

Let me say a word about grasses before I close this hastily-written letter. I 
have seen timothy four feet high, with heads 10 inches long, and the finest red- 
top and clover I ever saw. It seems just the place for an enterprising man, 
whether rich or poor, as you will find nice prairie, good timber, good water, and 
as kind, hospitable people as ever lived. 



168 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



From the "WABASH PLAIN DEALER." 



E. B. Mcpherson, correspondent. 



At the invitation of Col. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain «fe Southern Railroad, and T. B. Mills & Co., real estate 
agents at Little Rock, Arkansas, about 100 representatives of the press met at 
St. Louis on the 28th of September to join in an editorial excursion for the land 
of cotton. 

We were met at the Southern Hotel by the above-named gentlemen, and duly- 
ticketed for the round trip, and at nine o'clock p. m. the train, consisting of five 
PuUman palace cars, moved out. Among others who joined us at St. Louis was 
the Hon. Logan H. Roots, ex-member of Congress from Arkansas ; Col. E. IST. 
Hill, an original Arkansas traveler, and a man alive to the interests of his native 
State ; also Judge Shirk, of Peru, Indiana, who has traveled extensively through- 
out the State, and made large investments there. 

We awoke in the morning as the train passed the town of Moark, which is just 
on the north line of the State of Arkansas, and about the first pleasant sight that 
greeted our eyes were some peach trees bending under their weight of ripe fruit. 
The road here follows for some distance the flat country between the St. Francis 
and Black rivers, which is heavily timbered and sparsely settled, the small settle- 
ments being generally decorated by the old-time log hut, the village being 
composed of one saloon, two stores and a blacksmith shop. By the way, one. of 
the party here related an anecdote which was relished by all. Some travelers 
passing through this country came into one of these villages on the Sabbath, 
and, it being a chUly day, wanted something warming. They looked around till 
they espied the ever-present sign "Saloon." On inquiring for the proprietor, 
they were told that he was at Sunday-school, he being the superintendent of the 
only one in the village, and to their great disgust they found it would be a neces- 
sity for them to ' ' keep cool. ' ' 

The country for many miles is generally level and quite hea^dly timbered, 
mostly oak, hickory and gum. We took breakfast at Walnut Ridge, near where 
our friend Shirk has some landed interests, and he took special pains to show us 
some of the fine large ears of corn growing in a field near by. From Walnut 
Ridge to Newport, at the crossing of White river, farms were more numerous, 
and the large growth of cotton and corn was evidence of rich soil. Newport is 
a thriving town in the midst of a rich country, and would not be a bad place to 
locate, Wliite river being navigable far above this point. The next place of 
interest is Judsonia, on the Little Red river, 50 miles this side of Little Rock. 
Here we saw the first bale of cotton, with the American flag wa\dng over it. 
Here is located the Judson University, a Baptist institution, under the charge of 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 169 

Rev. Benjamin Thomas, a live Welshman, who, with many others of the citizens, 
gave us a hearty greeting. He accompanied us to the capital. This village ig 
being built by a colony, and is destined not far in the future to become an im- 
portant town. 

Shortly after noon we crossed the Arkansas river, and soon rattled up to the 
depot at the north end of Little Rock, where the citizens had congregated en 
masse to welcome us, a brass band playing the appropriate tune, "The Arkansas 
Traveler." After partaking of a bountiful dinner we were shown over the city, 
which is beautifully situated on high blufts overlooking the broad Arkansas 
bottoms. 

The capital city contains probably 18,000 inhabitants, possesses an air of thrift 
and cleanliness, and is, no doubt, one of the healthiest in the Southwest, and 
with the rapidly increasing railroad facilities, it is destined to be, not far in the 
future, one of the most important points of trade. There is no place that I 
know of that offers more inducements for the location of manufacturing estab- 
lishments, especially for the manufacture of agricultural implements, furniture 
and wagons, there being an inexhaustible supply of timber, coal and iron in the 
immediate vicinity. We were shown the many places of interest about the city, 
and, among others, the home of the famous "Arkansas Traveler," who departed 
this world some two years since. 

From Little Rock we went to Hot Springs, a thriving little city located in the 
mountains, some 65 miles to the southwest. This is one of the liveliest places ia 
the State, and is, without doubt, destined to be always one of the most important 
places of resort for the invalid and pleasure-seeker in this great country of ours. 
A narrow-gauge railroad will soon be completed from Malvern, a station on the 
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, which will make it of easy access 
to the world, and will, no doubt, largely increase the travel in that direction. 
The springs of hot water spouting from the side of the mountains are truly a 
matter of wonder, and the cures effected by their use are said to be marvelous. 
Here we were met by hosts of citizens, who vied with each other to extend to us 
the hospitalities of their city. This city has a daily paper — the Telegraph — many 
fine business buildings and hotels ; also, street cars, a city park, and many other 
Rccompaniments of a young and thriving city. 

From Hot Springs we returned to Malvern and went down to Arkadelphia, st 
city of considerable importance on the Ouachita river, in the midst of the richest 
cotton and corn-growing country. Here the citizens had killed the fatted calf 
and had him roasted whole, and served up to us in fine style in a beautiful grove 
near by. Speeches of welcome were made by several prominent citizens, which 
were responded to by several of our party with a hearty good will. We were 
shown over the rich cotton-fields, the first picking of which is now being har- 
vested, and which is producing a bountiful yield. At night we returned to Little 
Rock, and on the next day ran up the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad to the 
coal mines, distant about 100 miles, passing some thriving villages and witness- 
ing many evidences of prosperity and plenty. The crops of wheat, corn, oats 
and cotton along this line of road were very heavy this season. The wheat 



170 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELERS. 

shown us at the mills was of the finest quality, and, it was told us, would average 
62 pounds to the bushel ; ears of corn of immense size were also shown us, and a 
cucumber weighing 54 pounds was one of the curiosities displayed at one of 
the stations. 

I have been compelled to write this up hastily, therefore cannot enter into 
details, but will say that all who accompanied this excursion seemed strongly 
impressed with the wonderful resources of the State of Arkansas, and convinced 
that, in no far distance in the future, it would be one of the most wealthy, as it 
is now the most desirable in the way of climate and cheap lands, in all the great 
Southwest. 

Socially and pohtically, Arkansas seems now to be fully under the control off 
the better classes, and with little indications of future trouble. Gov. Garland's 
administration is giving general satisfaction, so far as we could ascertain, and as 
to any strife on the color-line, there were no indications perceptible. There 
seems to be a scarcity of laborers, and a few thousand industrious tramps, who 
are roaming over our country looking for work, might find constant emplojrment 
at not less than $1.50 per day by emigrating to that congenial clime. As I 
expect to experience some of the pleasures of the climate ere long, I will with- 
hold further writing till I become better posted. 



From the "INDIANAPOLIS DAILY NEWS. 



F. T. HOLUDAY, Correspondent. 



About two weeks ago the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, in 
conjunction witli Messi's. T. B. Mills & Co., proprietors of the Spirit of Arkansas,. 
and also large real estate dealers, issued to members of the press throughout the 
States of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, 
invitations to join an excursion party to Little Rock, Arkansas, and from thence 
to spread out over the State, and examine as thoroughly as possible its resources, 
in order to carry back a full and correct report, which, when pubhshed in the 
papers edited and represented, might give the public a diff'erent impression about 
Arkansas from the one usually entertained. In response to this invitation, 
nearly 100 newspaper men promptly seated themselves in fine Pullman sleep- 
ing coaches, at the Iron Mountain depot at St. Louis, on Tuesday evening, 
September 28th, at nine o'clock, and the order being given to start, the city was 
soon left behind and the long journey commenced. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 171 



THE IRON MOUNTAIN ROAD. 



The first thing, perhaps, to mention ought to be the road wliich projected this 
trip. The part of it extending from St. Louis to Iron Mountain, a distance of 
81 miles, has been in operation several years and was known as the St. 
Louis & Iron Mountain. Its President, Thomas Allen, one of those long- 
headed, far-reaching and far-seeing men, who arrange all their plans with an eye 
to the future more than the present, saw in the future that the road which 
would connect the middle and Western States with the South and Southwest 
by the shortest route would inevitably obtain the bulk of the immense business 
furnished by the country, to say nothing of the Southern Pacific when com- 
pleted. He got hold of a road known as the Cairo & Fulton, and by con- 
sohdatingit with his own, has obtained a direct outlet to Texarkana, a distance 
of 490 miles jn a direct diagonal line southeast of St. Louis, and which now goes 
by the name of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. 

LITTLE ROCK. 

After being wrapped in the arms of Morpheus all night, morning with its 
coming brought the welcome amount of breakfast, which was quickly dispatched, 
and mile after mile was rapidly passed until three o'clock, when Little Rock was 
reached. The hospitality of the leading citizens was extended to the excur- 
sionists by their taking them to their homes, giving them good dinners, and 
showing them the different places of interest, by driving them in carriages all 
over the city and surrounding country. Then in the evening came an elegant 
banquet, which passed off pleasantly, and during which the best of feeling pre- 
vailed, and "all went merry as a marriage bell." From what one could judge 
from private as well as public conversation with the leading politicians and men 
of the State, as well as those in more humble life, eveiybody has had enough of 
politics and fighting and wants to steer clear of them hereafter, and devote their 
full and undivided attention to developing and building up their State, so that 
she may stand second to none of the others. All that they want is to have the 
majority rule, and not to be dictated to or interfered with by any party or 
authority outside of their State, when they are not violating the laws of the 
United States. 

HOT SPRINGS. 

To go back to the trip, however. The morning following the banquet the 
train was run down the road 43 miles to Malvern, and a change of base was 
made to a train of flat cars, fitted up with rough board seats, and which belonged 
to a narrow-gauge road being built from Malvern to the Hot Springs, a distance 
of 27 miles, of which nine have been finished and are in good running order. 
At the end of this road a number of four-horse stages were in waiting to convey 
the travelers to the springs, 18 miles further, and after a ride over a rocky, 
rough, dirty and hilly road, the destination was gladly reached. Then came a 
solid dinner, an inspection of the wonderful life-giving and healthy water, two 



■^'^^ THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



J 

large balls at the hotels in the evening, followed by a good night's rest. Early ^ 
m the morning back to Malvern, then down the road 22 miles to Arkadelphia, 
where a grand barbecue was in waiting, the quick dispatching of which caused 
even the natives to look on with astonishment, which is the more remarkable as | 
they are rather bad on the eat themselves. Now the order comes to run back 
to Little Rock (or the Rock, as it is commonly called). Another morning has 
now arrived, and the party separates, some to go north on the Fort Smith & 
Little Rock road, to inspect the coal and mineral lands 120 miles away, the rest 
to go out on the Memphis & Little Rock road to Forrest City, a distance of 90 
miles, and within 45 miles of Memphis. Then Sunday morning at two o'clock 
sees the party reunited and started for home, arriving at St. Louis at seven in 
the evening, where the separation of the party was finally completed. 



ARKANSAS AS IT APPEARED. 



1 



^ The part of the State through which the party traveled was rather rocky and 
hilly, with immense quantities of timber spreading over its surface. The State 
is intersected by several large rivers, which afford good means of navigation oa » 
account of their great width and depth, so that in a measure the lack of raih-oads 1 
IS atoned for. Then, too, there are many smaller streams, so that no lack of ' 
water is felt, and the soil along the bottoms of all these streams is of that rich, 
black color which produces the best of cotton, corn, wheat, vegetables and fruits 
in great quantities. The timber is of a good quahty, stands very thick, and 
looks as though its supply could never be exhausted. The different kinds are 
black walnut, oak of all kinds, hickory, pine, locust, cypress, pecan, cedar, 
beech, ash, plum, maple, bois d'arc and cherry. It is estimated that the State 
contains 45,000,000 acres of timbered lands, so that the reader can form a slio-ht 
idea of the vast amount of this valuable product. Fortunes can be made from 
these timbered lands. The lumber is worth more than the assessed value of the 
State. Lnmigrants who will save and not destroy will find the timbered lands a 
mine of wealth— richer and more certain than the big bonanzas of Nevada and 
Colorado. 



FARMING STATISTICS. 



There were in Arkansas in 1870, 49,424 farms, containing 1,859,821 acres of 
improved lands, 3,910,325 acres of woodland, and 1,827,150 acres of other lands 
attached. These farms were placed at a cash valuation of $40,029,698 and the 
farming implements used on them at $2,237,409. The wages paid to farm hands 
amounted to $4,061,952, and the amount produced was $40,701,699. This is 
the most astonishing result ever shown from farm labor. Every acre of land in 
the State produced $21.94. 

The land below Little Rock is more level, and the road from this city to Mem- 
phis runs through some very fine and large prairies, reminding one somewhat of 
Kansas or lUinois. The farmers are now turning their attention more to raisino- 
corn, wheat and fruits, beginning to realize that cotton cannot always be rehed 
upon, and therefore in case of its failure it is well to have something else to fall 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE, 173 

back upon. The following is a sample of the height and yield of some of the 
grains and grasses, specimens of which were on exhibition at T. B. Mills & Co.'s 
office: 

Wheat, six feet high, with heads six inches long ; rye, eight feet six inches 
high ; oats, seven feet high, with heads eighteen inches long ; millet, nine feet 
high, with heads nine inches long ; Hungarian grass, four feet high, from the 
second crop this year ; timothy, four and a half feet high, yielding four tons to 
the acre ; clover, four tons to the acre ; blue grass, four and a half feet high ; 
red-top, four feet high, three tons to the acre ; and orchard grass, five feet high, 
three tons to the acre. 

POPULATION NEEDED. 

What Arkansas most needs is immigration. She possesses all the resources 
which, when fully developed, will well repay the laborer. Lands can be bought 
on ten years time for almost nothing. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Eailroad has nearly 2,000,000 acres of land for sale, which accounts for the milk 
in the cocoanut, in their having gotten up this excursion as a grand and glorious 
advertisement, which, truth compels one to say, was a great success. Before 
closing this letter, a word or two might be appropriate as regards the gentlemen 
who had the personal supervision of this trip. To Col. J. M. Loughborough, 
Land Commissioner of the road, thanks are due for his courtesy and care for the 
comfort of those under his guidance. In this it would be well to include Col. G. 
W. Hered, belonging to the Land Department also, who certainly knows how to 
treat newspaper men; then, too, T. B. Mills & Co., who did a great deal of 
hard work to make the trip a success, in which they were ably seconded by the 
officers of the different roads, stage lines, and citizens of all the towns and cities 
through which the party passed. If all excursions pass off as pleasantly as this 
one has done, may we always be there to take a part. 



From the "HUNTINGTON DEMOCRAT. 



SAM. F. AVI]S^TER, Editor. 



Some weeks since an invitation was extended to the Press of the Northwest to 
join in an excursion into the interior of Arkansas, by Hon. J. M. Loughborough, 
Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and 
Col. T. B. Mills, real estate agent at Little Eock. In response to this invitation 
about 100 journalists repaired to St. Louis, 

THE RENDEZVOUS OF THE PROJECTED EXCURSION, 

to participate in the tour. The press of this city was represented by Capt. 
U. D. Cole, of the Herald^ and ourself. Leaving Huntington on the evening 



174 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

train on Monday, September 27th, we arrived at St. Louis at seven o'clock on 
the morning of the 28th. Here, at the Planters', we met Judge Shu-k, of Peru, a 
gentleman who has been a speculator in Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas lands 
for yeai's, and who has now turned his attention to the more prolific and inviting 
acres of Arkansas. Reporting at the headquarters of the excursion our intention 
to participate, we were properly credentialed, ticketed and badged for the most 
popular and interesting journey the "press-gang" of the country was ever invited 
to. As the party was not to leave until nine o'clock at night, opportunity was 
offered to "do" St. Louis, the actual and real 

IIETROPOLIS OF THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST, 

of which we availed ourselves so fai- as time permitted. We inspected the majes- 
tic iron bridge spanning the Mississippi, from whose dizzy heights we surveyed 
the shipping along the levee ; the tunnel under the city, traversed by the rail- 
roads, and last and most wonderful of all, Shaw's Botanical Garden, 

A PERFECT EDEN, 

containing native flowers and plants and shrubs of all varieties, and exotics from 
all parts of the globe. Here were house-plants, trees, shrubs and flowers from 
the Cape of Good Hope, from the East Indies, from Java, from New Holland, 
from the Isle of Ceylon, from the Isle of Bourbon, from the "West Indies, from 
Australia, from New South Wales, from China, the Levant, and the Lord only 
knows from where else. The plants were in mammoth summer-houses, and aU 
labeled. Descriptions of the various trees and plants were taken while going 
through this sublunary elysium, but we have no space to describe them. The 
garden is a wonder of earth, a visual realization of Mahomet's ideal of the realm 
of heaven. The garden blooms with flowers of every hue and perfume, and 
beautiful walks, shaded with evergi'eens, spruces and pines, tall and symmetrical, 
circle and intersect each other at every turn. A museum of botany, ornithology, 
zoology and painting is on the grounds ; an observatory, standing in the centre, 
from which the garden may be overlooked, and a mausoleum, where the proprietor 
has devised a resting-place for his remains when his earthly pilgrimage is over, 
are some of the objects of interest. Admission to the garden is free to all. 
Pleasure-seekers come and go daily thi'oughout tlie year. Mr. Shaw is a rich 
Englishman, a bachelor by the way, without kith or Mn, an octogenarian in age, 
and takes pride in feeding the curiosity of the public from his ample purse. 

OFF FOR DESIE. 

Having seen as much of St. Louis as time would permit, we boarded the excur- 
sion train on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, consisting of 
six Pullman coaches, a smoking and a baggage cai', and at nine p. m. were whix-led 
through the night towards the Arkansas State line, which was reached about six 
o'clock on Wednesday moi'uing. The excui'sionists were called from their 
coaches, and from this point forward the country was an object of interest to all. 
At the State line, the lands of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE." 175 

commence, and extend to alternate sections for indefinite distances in the State^ 
on either side of the road, to the northern boundary of Texas. We entered the 
State at the northeast corner, in Clayton county, and found 

THE COUNTRY AS NATURE MADE IT, 

excepting only that the forests had been somewhat thinned for fuel for the loco- 
motives, and here and there a "settler" had erected a cabin, and cleared enough 
land to produce a li\ang from. The surface generally is rolling, with alluvial 
soil, apparently easily cultivated and seemingly very productive. 

THE PRINCIPAL GROWTH OF TIMBER HERE 

is white, black and red oak, hickory and ash. The Cache river runs through 
the centre of the county, and within a few miles of the railway, the valleys of 
which are rich and fertile. The western part of the county is said to be broken 
and hilly. The county south of Clayton is Lawrence. It is divided near the 
centre by the Black river, and the region through which the railroad passes 
is known as "the Black river bottom." The soil is alluvial and produces 
excellently ; in fact, it is not unhke the bottom-lands of the Wabash valley. 
And there is an almost exact similarity between the uplands there and those of 
the immediate regions here, in this — that the soil is derived chiefly from the 
fliut-hke quartz, honestone and magnesian limestone. The timber consists of 
oak, ash, hickory, gum, black walnut and persimmon. Cotton, corn, and what is 
known as herd's grass, produce exceedingly well here. Le.ad and zinc are also 
found in this county. In some places the land is flat, but there is little of it 
along the railway that cannot be cultivated. Beyond Black river, four miles, 
west, a finely cultivated country and rich plantations are found. As high up aa 
Clayton county cotton plantations exist, but the product is light and inferior in 
comparison with the product a hundred miles further south. Stations more or 
less pretentious are along the road, and we remember that Corning, a village in 
this county, is ambitious of becoming a town of importance. The ground here 
was cultivated before Arkansas was admitted into the Union, and a plantation 
that was once undoubtedly a profitable one is now a common, staked out for 
a city. 

A mUe below Corning is a saw-mill, built on a lake, which supplies lumber for 
the settlers hereabouts, and for a distance up and down the road. The country 
here is low and wet, resembling that between Roanoke station, on the Toledo, 
Wabash & Western Railway, and the prairie east of it. At a station below this 
some miles there is a large saw and planing mill, conducted by parties from 
Kokomo. The mill is well patronized and displays a fine supply of dressed lum- 
ber in its ample yai'd. At Walnut Ridge the excursionists breakfasted and had 
an opportunity of looking about for an hour and a half. 

A NATIVE PRODUCT, 

in the form of a black bear, captured on the Cache river, a few miles east of the 
Ridge, was here exhibited, and we were told that some weeks before a daring 



176 ' THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

I 

hunter had slain seven of the bruin family in that region. Walnut Eiclge is 
named after a heavy growth of walnut in this locality, between the railroad and 
Black river. The timber here is ash, sugar, elm, white oak, gum, hackberry and 
cypress. The land is level and of a rich alluvial character, and yields well 
wherever cultivated. This is rather an inviting locality. 

At the town of Newport, in Jackson county, a number of Indianapohs capi- 
talists are investing largely in lands and in manufacturing interests. This town 
is well located on White river, with a most romantic view of the stream, which is 
navigable here at all seasons of the year, and for vessels of the heaviest draught. 

At Judsonia, in White county, the excursionists were welcomed by a turn-out 
of citizens of both sexes. Specimens of the products of the soil, such as cotton, 
corn, fruit, etc., were on exhibition for our inspection; a flag was flapping in 
the genial breeze, and banners and mottoes hung on the outer walls of the 
depot buUding, with inscriptions assuring us that we were "some pumpkins," 
and our occupation as quill-drivers mightier than the warrior's. Of course, we 
were all considerably inflated over this information and proud of the reception. 
At this place there is 

A BAPTIST UNIVERSITT, 

established in 1870 by a colony from Chicago. Searcy is the county seat of 
White. It is four miles west of the railway, reached by a wooden track, is pos- 
sessed of a sulphur spring, and enjoys some popularitj^ as a watering-place. 
Coal-beds and iron ore exist in this county in large beds. 

Crossing over the northwest corner of Lonoke county, we enter Pulaski, in 
which Little Rock, the capital of the State, is located. 

A RESUME. 

The counties of Clayton, Lawrence, Independence, Craighead, Jackson, White 
and Lonoke, so far as our observation could extend in a transitory passage 
through them, are rich in timber, minerals and soil. They produce all the 
cereals, vegetables and grasses that can be produced anywhere, and in equal 
abundance, as well as cotton ; and without magnifying any of their advantages, 
we assert, as one whose pursuit it is to disseminate' information, that it is the 
region where the industrious man of hmited means can go and increase his 
worldly store with less labor and surer prospects of success than in any section 
of country we are acquainted with. Adjoining counties may afford like oppor- 
tunities, but of them we cannot speak from observation. 

THE PROUD CAPITAL OF ARKANSAS. 

Littfe Rock is situated on the south bank of the Arkansas river. The town 
site is a high plateau, with a succession of beautifully sloping hills, overlooking 
the country for miles. From its geographical advantages it is to some extent 
already a railroad center, and in the coming years is unquestionably destined to 
rival our own State capital in this respect. From James P. Henry's work, 
entitled " The Resources of Arkansas," we quote as follows, which our obser- 
vations corroborate: 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 177 

" The facilities to become the great distributing point for a vast inland country 
are not equalled by any other place in the Southwest. Its manufacturing interests 
are looked weU after and encouraged, and are rapidly enlarging. Judging from 
what has been accomplished in establishing manufactories during the past few 
5'ears, Little Rock is destined to become the principal manufacturing city of the 
Southwest. Every natural advantage that may be wished to support manufac- 
tories is found here. Improvements are continually being made ; extensive 
and substantial business houses are rapidly building to accommodate its fast 
increasing trade ; elegant and attractive dwelling-houses are appearing in all 
parts of the city ; large and beautiful churches and school-houses are to be seen, 
and everything being done to improve and beautify the place. It has ten or 
twelve well-sustained churches of the various denominations, and several good 
schools. St. John's College and St. Mary's Academy for girls are located here 
— the former having collegiate powers and a military department. It has four 
banks and several hotels, and an able bar. It has several manufacturing estab- 
hshments, and needs ten times as many more. It has a good and commodious 
wharf and a chamber of commerce. The city is lighted b^^gas." 

A population of 20,000 is claimed for it. Among the objects of interest here 
visited with our genial host, the Hon. W. W. Wilshire, ^ colleague of Major 
Saylor in the last Congress, were the barracks, a beautiful 35-acre tract, well 
improved with substantial brick buildings and commodious frames. The old 
quarters were constructed in 1835, and designed as a convenient depot for 
supplies for the southwestern frontier. The barracks were surrendered by Gen. 
Totten, in 1861, to the citizens under Gov. Rector, and recaptured in 1863 by 
Gen. Steele. Gov. Rector will be remembered from his somewhat saucy dis- 
patch to President Lincoln, in response to a call for State troops : ' ' You can go 
to hell, and I'll go with the Southern Confederacy." The barracks ai-e now in 
charge of Major "Wainwright, an accomphshed and pleasant gentleman, and 
brevet Major Rosencrantz, formerly of Gen. Meade's staff. The barracks fur- 
nished two companies of troops during the titne of the Baxter-Brooks imbroglio, 
but their ammunition consisted of blank cartridges. The citizens of Little Rock 
ai'e exceedingly hospitable. The excursionists were received at the depot by a 
band of music playing the very appropriate air of "The Arkansas Ti-aveler," 
a large assemblage of the population, and by carriages for our accommodation. 
Capt. Cole and ourself were the guests of Judge Wilshire, and were most royally 
entertained. The Judge drives the best team in Little Rock, and behind his fine 
roadsters we visited every part of the city, not even forgetting the late residence 
of Albert Pike, the great editor, statesman, orator and poet, and the idol of 
Arkansas. The State House is pretty much such a rickety and tumble-down 
affair as the capitol of Indiana, and the construction of a new one would be 
agitated but for the heavy debt resting on the State. 

In the evening "the editorial mob!' was invited to a sumptuous banquet in Har- 
monia Hall, a most commodious room. Tables, weighed down "VNdth the choicest 
\iands and most superb wines, were arranged in tiers after the manner of a Vir- 
ginia worm-fence thi'ough the capacious hall, and accommodations were complete 
12 % 



178 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

for an indefinite number of guests. Thie professional and mercantile interests of 
the city were here represented, and such an ovation of fellowship and welcome 
was never before known in Little Rock. There was a determination on all sides 
to show that the best feeling possible existed among the people of Ai'kansas 
towards the representatives of the population of the North, and that the desire 
to induce immigration was absolutely heartfelt. The hall was crowded and there 
was nothing wanting to make the fete a brilliant success but the flashing eyes and 
bright smiles of the gentler sex. The walls were graced with inscriptions such 
as "Young man, go West," "The pen is mightier than the sword," "Welcome 
to Arkansas," etc., etc. A brass band discoursed splendid music, and hilarity 
and feasting ruled the fleeting hours. The guests being seated, Gen. Robt. C. 
Newton was called upon to make the welcoming address. 

Addresses in response to toasts were made by Judge Wilshire, Capt. Cole, 
Gen. Pomeroy, Judge Yonley, Senator Clayton, Col. Mills, and a host of other 
Southern and Northern gentlemen. JudgQ, Wilshire is a strong advocate of river 
improvements, as a means of cheap transportation, and referred to this subject 
in his pertinent remarks. Capt. Cole rejoiced at the hearty reception accorded 
to the excursionists, and felt if there were any prejudices existing among the 
Northern people, such demonstrations were certain to dispel them. There was 
in this welcome evidence of a purpose to restore the amicable relations which 
should subsist to make a country great and prosperous. When the people of the 
North can cbme here and be received and entertained in so friendly and hospi- 
table a manner as we have been, it is manifest that the true spirit of reconcihation 
and reconstruction animates the people here. From his observations since he 
had entered the State, Capt. Cole paid a high tribute to the boundless resources 
of Arkansas. While cotton had been recognized as king, there were other equally 
as compensating productions. The minerals of the State, the manufacturing 
facilities, the inviting field for stock-raising were ready to pay capitahsts largely 
on their investments. The speaker predicted that in the common purpose of 
her citizens was the lever which would lift Arkansas to the plane to which she 
belongs. 

Speaking, interspersed with music, continued until one o'clock in the morn- 
ing, when the party repaired to their couches in the sleeping cars, and were 
conveyed to Malvern, a station 45 miles south — the eastern terminus of a 
narrow-gauge railroad in course of construction to Hot Springs. Here the 
quill-drivers were put on a side-track and left sleeping until nearly eight o'clock, 
when breakfast was announced. At nine the party stepped aboard of a train of 
flat cars, seated for the occasion, and after listening to an address of welcome 
from Col. Frazier, and passing a resolution of thanks for the reception, were put 

EN ROUTE FOR HOT SPRINGS. 

The cars were decorated with banners and mottoes, and foremost of all was a 
crown, fabricated from some yellow material, with a cotton wreath surmounting 
it, looking for all the world in the bright, morning sunlight like a crown of gold. 
In a myrtle wreath was the word "Welcome," and no one who mingled among 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 179 

the natives, and heard them express themselves, entertained any other opinion 
than that the word sincerely expressed the sentiment of the people. Everj^where, 
so far, the people of Arkansas had been found intelligent, warm-hearted and 
hospitable, seeking to impress their \dsitors with their earnestness in desiring to 
establish more intimate relations with the North, and to assure them that any 
settlers from the North would be heartily welcomed and respected. The pinnacle 
of hospitable greeting, however, was met with at the present terminus of the 
narrow-gauge railway, 11 miles from Malvern. Here, in a wild and mountain- 
ous region, with no sign of habitations, and none of ci\dlization, save the railway 
and a rough wagon road, the party was intercepted by a delegation of citizens 
from Hot Springs, with all manner of vehicles, from the old-fashioned stage coach 
to the most antique farm wagon. It was 

A BIG UNDERTAKING 

for a village containing a population of less than 2,000, with no settled country 
for miles around it, to furnish transportation for 150 persons, yet the village was 
equal to the call, and there was room to spare. The vehicles were formed in pro- 
cession, and for a distance of six miles, up mountains, down through ravines and 
gorges, with rocky, rough and uneven roads, the pilgrims were shocked, thumped, 
shattered and battered until their bones were sore and their patience about 
exhausted. Such a procession probably never anywhere traveled through so 
wild, rough and unsettled a country. Better roads were found at the end of six 
miles, and better time made. For five hours, with a vertical sun pouring its 
pitiless rays upon us, and clouds of dust encircling the wagons, this kind of 
entertainment was afforded us, and 

NOT A DROP TO DRINK ! 

Think of it. The timber through this wild region is chiefly pine, of stately 
growth and unUmited extent. On the road traveled by us, three miles southeast 
of the Springs, in a clearing of one of the pine forests, is where the Younger and 
James brothers robbed the passengers of a mail coach last fall. The driver of 
the coach was very exphcit in his information as to the exact locality of the 
exploit, and no doubt regarded it as a romantic episode. At half-past two 
o'clock the entrance to the valley in which the village is located was reached, 
and the marshals halted the wagons and restored system. A cavalcade of citi- 
zens joined us, and presently, like John Brown's soul, we once more went 
' ' marching on. ' ' Those of our party who had pinned their ribbons of red and 
blue to the lappels of their coats were the admired of all the negro women and 
children in the place, and we cannot help recording that the excursionists were 
pretty much looked upon as part and parcel of a circus company. Distinctly do 
we remember hearing a massive wench call her j'wung ones out to "see cle show." 
The reception at the Springs was but a repetition of prior receptions. The party 
was badged as "Our Guests," and the freedom of the town and the hospitality 
of the citizens were bountifully extended. 



180 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



THE TOWN OF HOT SPRINGS 



is picturesquely situated between two spurs of the Ozark Mountain, on the east 
side of Hot . Spring Mountain, and occupies a valley running north and souths 
It is surrounded by hills on every side, presenting beautiful sites for residences. 
The business part of the town is in the narrowest part of the valley, and the 
thermal springs are adjacent thereto. The town is scattered along the valley a 
mile each way, with street railway accommodations. The ownership of the town 
site and the springs is in dispute, and until a good title is vested somewhere the 
growth of the town must necessarily be slow. Mr. John Morrissey contemplates 
building a palatial hotel here as soon as the title is settled. There is but one 
street in the town, the valley being too narrow to admit of two. There are no 
sidewalks, and, what is more singular still, there is no municipal government, and 
yet such a thing as disorder is unknown. The population, including transients, 
is upwards of 3,000. Two daily newspapers and 12 hotels, some of them metro- 
politan in sti'uctui'e and commodiousness, are supported. 

A VISIT TO THE SPRINGS. 

In company with Judge Shirk, of Peru, we scaled the jagged mountain side 
in search of the famous "fountains of eternal youth," which Ponce de Leon 
failed in discovering, and Hernando de Soto died broken-hearted in the vain 
attempt to find. The springs are 56 in number, of all sizes (some sealed), and 
their waters are said to be efficacious for all maladies, excepting those of a pul- 
monary character. The MU-side is dotted with rude huts, tenanted by those who 
ai'e too poor to pay for bathing-house or hotel accommodations. Such a hideous 
and leprous set as some of these indi^dduals are cannot be found outside of a 
lazar-house, excepting here. The diseased come from all parts of the country, 
and the appearance of many would indicate that they come crawling on hands 
and knees. There are visitors here from countries of Europe and all parts of 
the United States ; and when the unfinished 16 miles of "Diamond Joe's" rail- 
way are completed, and the Springs become thereby more accessible to the 
afflicted, there will be a lai-gely increased patronage. The hot water is used for 
drinking as w^ell as bathing. It is at first insipid and nauseous to the taste, but 
several quaffs seiwe to familiarize one with it, and from dislike wc learn to like 
it. Col. Buckingham (and right here we deflect to state that every man in this 
region is titled; he is either a Senator, a Judge, a General, a Colonel, a Major 
or a Captain) — hence we say " Col." Buckingham, of the St. Joe (Mo.) Herald, 
who looks frequently upon the wine when it is red, when questioned as to his 
views of the merits of the thermal fluid, gravely declared he was no judge of 
water — it was too destitute of substance. The town presents many objects of 
curiosity, and some of the party came away with sacks fiUed wi-th mineral speci- 
mens. California diamonds abound here, and we shall expect to hear of some 
of our fellow-excursionists sporting shirt-studs from these glittering pebbles. A 
hone-quarry is not far from the ^'illage, from which stone are shipped in large 
quantities. Dances at the Arlington and at the Hot Springs Hotel were had 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 181 

expressly for the editors, and were brilliant affairs indeed. At the Arlington 
hop addresses were made by Col. Loughborough and others, and responded to 
by Gen. Pierce, whose acquaintance we formed at Little Rock, recognizing him 
as an Irish hack-driver. It was an acquaintance which subsequently turned out 
advantageously. The General has in his time been judge, lawyer, doctor, editor, 
poet and novelist. He is a first-class specimen of a Southwest adventurer, and 
a clever gentleman to boot. 

Prominent politicians were at the Springs, among whom were Senator Dorsey 
and Judge McClure. The former accompanied us from Little Rock, and we just 
rise to say in his behalf that he can sing the song of Mary and the Iamb as 
delightfully as any Hoosier that ever moved his lips to vocal strains, which the 
same he did in the mountains. 

The visit to the Springs was the event of the excursion, and will be remem- 
bered when all other incidents are forgotten. After a wholesome night's repose 
the party returned to Malvern, and went down the Iron Mountain road to Arka- 
delphia, the county seat of Clark county, and the head of navigation on the 
Ouachita river. This was one of the richest counties in the State before the 
war, and at no place is there a greater desire to have Northern capital, enter- 
prise and labor diffused than right here. There are fine lands in this county, 
and plantations that once ruled high in value can be had from $5 to $10 per acre. 
A capital opportunity was presented to mingle among the genuine natives, and 
hear from them their views of the local situation. 

A LUXURIOUS BARBECUE 

was here prepared in a grove adjacent to the town for the Arkansas travelers, 
and never did a hungry set of mortals do ampler justice to a feast. Long tables 
were improvised of pine boards, and on the'se were spread out for the half-starved 
fraternity beef, pork, mutton, with cart-loads of bread and oceans of water. 
Primitive man here asserted the superiority of fingers over knives and forks, 
from the force of necessity, and a jolly racket old Prim, had of it. The dainty 
fingers of "William Henry Harrison Robipson, representing the Fort Wayne 
Gazette^ were as glossj^ from liis contact with Arkansas grease as his curly locks 
were from "bar's ile," and still he wasn't happy. There was no one hereto 
call him out for a speech, and "Tip," as the boys called him for bre^dty, was 
sadly "down in the mouth," but he got one in (the 54th made by him on the 
trip, we believe,) through the watchful devotion of Col. Hill, the blood and 
thunder correspondent of the Chicago Inter-Ocean, at the reception in the even- 
ing. From Arkadelphia the party went 

DOWN TO THE RICH COTTON-FIELDS, 

some ten miles further south, and the train being halted for their inspection of 
the fields and the crops, and to see the pickers at work, the ' ' mob ' ' went into 
the fields, helped the pickers, asked Sambo and Dinah a thousand questions, went 
to the storage-sheds, saw the cotton of the hands weighed, and returned to the 
train at dusk, to be carried farther south, and then to return to the reception 



182 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELERg. 

at ArkadelpMa. Speeches were made bj^ prominent citizens of the place, 
responded to by members of the excursion, and for a few hours a real pleasant 
time was had. Judge McMillan, 

A QUONDAM FIRE-EATER, 

was the prominent orator of the evening, and felt considerably exhilarated by the 
mutual honors of the editorial visit to the town and the town's reciprocal jam- 
boree. The Judge said, in referring to secession, that the South had thrown 
down the wager of battle, been beaten, and was willing to submit. It was all 
their own fault, they had nobody to blame but themselves, and they were long 
since willing to quit. He told a few stories of the early history of Arkansas, and 
subsided as gracefully as he entered upon "the stand," which was the staircase 
of a new hotel, with such adjuncts for speech-making within easy reach as our 
Hantington lawyers were accustomed to have 20 years ago. The Judge was 
preceded by a lawyer of the place named Thompson, 

THOMPSON WITH A "p," 

as he told us, a broad-shouldered specimen of a New York Yankee, faltering in 
speech and slow in gesture ; but the occasion was an unusual one, and the Arkan- 
sas statesmen were excusable. From this place we returned to Little Rock^ 
whence on Saturday morning the party with whom we traveled had an excursion 
over the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad to Forrest City, a distance of 99 miles, 
through the land of the mound-builders, a country mth a history before history 
was written, and the finest prairie land that ever the sun shone on. Before 
closing this part of the history of the tour, we may as well advert to the 

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STATUS 

of the inhabitants of Arkansas. The same cordial relations exist among them- 
selves as they unitedly extended to thg excursionists. They recognize the fact 
that the development of the material interests of their State is paramount to any 
political consideration, and self-preservation suggests the presence of the hour 
when partisanship and personal strife must cease and be supplanted by a com- 
mon and united effort to lift their State from the slough of misery into which it 
has been plunged by bad gOA^ernment. 

"l HAVE NO POLITICS,' 

is an expression you hear from many of the public men ; and while, after all, a 
partisan sentiment crops out once in a wliile in the course of a conversation with 
them, there is generally a decided aversion to discussing questions of a political 
nature. They have, however, ho hesitancy in expressing themselves on the 
financial question, and favor pretty solidly the platform of the Ohio and Penn- 
sjdvania Democracy. They require expansion rather than contraction to open 
up their undeveloped country and to establish industries. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 183 



FROM THE "INDEPENDENT PRESS," BUNKER HILL 



JOHN F. BUSEY, Editor. 



Upon invitation from Col. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the 
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, we joined an editorial excursion 
to Arkansas. The object of the enterprise was to disseminate information 
throughout the Northwest in regard -to the social and political condition of 
that much neglected State, as well as to investigate its agricultural and mineral 
resources. 

As an agricultural State we think Arkansas is not surpassed by Siny State in 
the South. Thousands of square miles of fertile soil, covered with the finest 
timber in the world, are lying unimproved and subject to homestead entry. 
Lands which in Indiana would be worth $75 per acre for the timber that is 
on them, can be had in fee simple for the taking of them, and adjoining or near 
to the Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, which is one of the best equipped 
roads in the West. 

Also up on the Little Rock & Fort Smith road can be had the finest of prairie 
and timber lands, capable of producing 60 bushels of corn, 30 bushels of wheat, 
or 400 to 600 pounds of cotton to the acre, either by homestead or purchase 
from the railroad company, at $3 to $6 per acre. Besides producing all the 
cereals and cotton, there are no better fruit lands in the world. That the grape- 
vine is pei^fectly at home in Arkansas is abundantly attested by the innumerable 
wild grapes of different varieties found growing and bearing profusely all 
through the woods. The common winter variety, the Muscadine and Ouachita 
grapes, can be gathered during this month by the wagon-load in almost every 
part of the State visited by our party. 

The mineral resources, like the agricultural, are almost entirely undeveloped, 
two coal mines in operation being all that came under our observation, although 
in many localities are to be seen indisputable e^ddences of rich mineral deposits. 
A whetstone or honestone, said to be the finest in the world, is now being 
quarried near the Hot Springs and shipped to all parts of the country. One 
gentleman from St. Louis, a professional mineralogist, whose name we do not 
remember, is responsible for the assertion that the Hot Springs honestone sold, 
when first quarried, for $5 per pound. What it is worth now we did not learn, 
but judging from the quantity hauled to the railroad for shipment, it must be in 
good demand. 

Every one who \dsits Arkansas should avail himself of the opportunity to see the 
famous Hot Springs. They are situated 57 miles southwest of Little Rock, but 
in reaching them you find it necessary to travel a circuit of 8 1 miles in order to 
save staging more than 24 -miles. Featherstonhaugh, in his Geological Report, 
made nearly 40 years ago, gives the following graphic account of the Hot Springs : 



184 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

" At length, nearing a considerable ridge and turning into a small valley about 
50 yards broad, I saw from the appearance of things that I had reached the 
Hot Springs of the Ouachita, so great an object of curiosity to men of science, 
and so little known to the rest of the world. This valley, which runs north and 
south, extends about 800 yards, and then deflects to the west. At the foot of 
the eastern ridge, which is about 500 feet high, flows a lively stream, which rises 
in the hills to the northeast ; this ridge has, towards the top, a dense growth of 
trees, amongst which are strewed fragments of the rock, often very ferruginous, 
and pieces of a strong band of iron-stone which traverses the ridges in the 
direction of N-N-E. and S.S.W., and dipping S.E. with sandstone at an angle 
of about 45 degrees. 

" I had entered the valley but a short distance before I saw on the flank of the 
east ridge a rock of totally different character from that constituting the ridge, 
impending, like a curtain, down to the stream, and I at once recognized it for a 
travertine deposited by the mineral waters. The curtain, with some intervals, 
extends along the stream for about 400 yards from the slope of the ridge, pre- 
senting sometimes abrupt escarpments of from 15 to 25 feet, and at other times 
sloping itself in points and coves, advancing into and receding from the stream. 
This travertine extends back east from the stream about 150 yards, leaning upon 
the acclivity of the old red sandstone, > to where several powerful springs are now 
situated. Some of the springs rise in the bed of the stream ; one very fine spring 
rises in its west bank, while numerous others, of which, perhaps, 30 copious ones 
are found at various heights on the ridge, rising through the old red sandstone 
rock. Of springs of feebler force there are a great many. Some of them issue 
from the rock at an elevation of at least 100 feet from the valley where the pres- 
ent cabins are built. In this locality the hot water is so abundant that I found 
it often troublesome to procure that which was cold, for the hot springs occupy- 
ing a breadth equal to 400 yards of the base of the ridge, ail the hot water was 
discharged into the creek, which in many parts was a temperature just fitted for 
a warm bath ; and what further assists to keep up its temperature is the great 
number of hot springs rising through the slate at the bottom of the brook — this 
can be seen almost at a hundred places — and although the water does not scald 
the hand there, still, upon insinuating my fingers a few feet below the ground at 
the edge of the stream, I was obliged to retire them instantly, having more than 
once burnt them in that way. Here the mineral hot waters, except one or two of 
the springs, which are slight chalybeates, are tasteless, not having the least saline 
trace. A person totally unacquainted with mineralogy, and not aware of any 
difference between travertine and old red sandstone, might suppose the mineral 
structure of all the rocks to be homogeneous, and that the waters, not differing 
in their taste from ordinary warm water, were without any mineral cotfistituent, 
as the hot waters of the Ouachita have been reported to be, but these immense 
deposits of carbonate of lime attest the contrary. On digging about 25 feet 
above the level of the brook, I went through a foot of the carbonate with traces 
of sulphate of lime, and through a dark red oxide, with reniform masses of 
nodular iron with botryoidal faces. The sulphate was deposited in layers of 
acicular form. I then came to masses of ferrnsrinous sandstone belono-inor to the 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 185 

ridge. I took out one large mass of iron,, the walls of which were in places two 
and a half inches thick of rich hematite ore." 

After leaving the Springs on the morning of October 1st, we travelled 18 
miles by stage and hack lines, which were Inndly placed at the disposal of our 
party by the El Paso Stage Company line. At this point the party again 
boarded the cars on the narrow gauge for Malvern. Through Maj. G. P. C. 
Eumbough's courtesy we were conveyed in going, and also in returning, over 
that portion of the Hot Springs Railway that is finished, in flat cars, seated ex- 
pressly for the occasion. 

It was the intention of Col. Loughborough that the party should g& as far 
south as Texarkana on the Texas and Arkansas hne, but we were "billed " for 
Little Rock the next morning, and it was found impossible to reach Texarkana 
without throwing us one day behind the arranged programme. Leaving Mal- 
vern, we run south to Arkadelphia, where a grand barbecue awaited us. Long 
tables, spread in a beautiful oak grove, laden with roast beef, venison and 
chicken, as well as other sohd refreshments, constituted a spectacle inviting to a 
hungry brigade of " quill-drivers." After giving evidence of our hearty appre- 
ciation of the kindness of the citizens of Arkadelphia by the manner in which 
we disposed of their substantial "vittles," we again boarded our Pullman cars. 
A run of 20 or 30 miles and we were in a very rich agricultural district. Where 
the train stopped we went out and examined as fine corn on one side of the 
track as one often sees anywhere. But what was of more interest to most of 
our party was the cotton-fields on the other side. A dozen negroes, of all sizes 
and both sexes, were engaged in picking cotton from what appeared to be a very 
fine crop of that important staple. Persons who are posted on the subject in- 
foi-med us that such a crop of cotton would make 500 pounds of pure cotton to 
the acre, which at present prices is worth $65. The land is generally owned by 
men who live in the towns and rent to negroes for 100 pounds of ginned or pure 
cotton per acre. This same land, we are infoi;med, can be bought for $10 to 
$15 per acre, including improvements, and rents for 100 pounds of cotton, which 
is worth $13. The negroes who pick for others pick for 60 to 75 cents per 100 
pounds. It was just late enough to see them carrying their baskets of cotton to 
the pens to be weighed. 

The novelty of the scene ha\dng worn off, we returned to Arkadelphia, where 
a reception and speech-making was the order of the evening. Col. Gaulding 
delivered the reception speech, bidding the party a hearty welcome to the hospi- 
talities of the town, and expressing the desire that this enterprise might prove 
mutually beneficial to the two sections of our country represented — the North- 
west and the Southwest- The many toasts and speeches that followed showed 
tiiat a general good feeling pervaded the entire compan}^. 

There is no question but Arkansas ofl'ers many inducements to parties desiring 
to procure homes in the West. Her chmate is much better than that of the 
Northwestern States. She produces abundantly almost all the cereal and vege- 
table crops that are raised in the North, and in addition to this she can raise 
cotton, and a quahty of tobacco far superior to any we can raise in Indiana, and 



186 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

when you talk about fruits she can beat us to death. "We have been told that 
they cannot raise apples South, but the finest we ever saw were growing on the 
hills near Hot Springs. 

After the reception meeting at the Reames House broke up we retired to our 
sleeping coaches and awoke next (Saturday) morning at Little Rock. 

But one day of our time remaining and two railroads yet to traverse, it was 
decided to divide the party, one party to make the Memphis & Little Rock and 
the other the Little Rock & Fort Smith road. The writer preferred the latter 
for several reasons, chief among which was Horace Greelej^'s admonition, " Go 
West, young man, go West." Leaving Little Rock at eight o'clock, we soon 
reached Conway, a thri-vdng little town but three years old, probably as large as 
Bunker Hill, and the county seat of Conway county. The county of Conway is 
but three years old as a county, having been cut off from another county in 
1872. Right here, we think, is one of the best opportunities for a young man to 
get a good farm in as good community as can be found in the State. Conway lies 
30 miles west of Little Rock, on the Fort Smith Railroad, six miles from a good 
landing on the Arkansas river, and on ' another line of proposed railroad which 
has been surveyed to run on a bee-line due east from Conway to Memphis. 
Fine timbered and fertile prairie lands, about equally divided, can be purchased 
from the railroad company at from $2 to $6 per acre. The latter price for lands 
adjoining the town of Conway, and the former for those ten miles out from the 
town. Homesteads can no longer be obtained nearer than six or eight miles 
of the county seat. Large quantities of hay made from the native prauie grass 
are baled at Conway and shipped to different points in the South. 

At Clarks\'ille we stopped awhile to look at the manufacturing interests of the 
place, which consist of two mills, both of which combine, under the same roof, 
saw mills, planers and flour mills, together with carders, spinnei^s, and other 
wool-worldng machinery. 

West of Clarks^olle we explored the Spadra coal mines, while the train ran 
down ten miles further to the end of the track to turn the engine and returned. 
These coal-fields are said to be practically^ inexhaustible, underlying millions of 
acres in beds of from three to ten feet in thickness. This railroad company was 
fortunate in securing the services of Col. Slack, formerly of Pittsburgh, to 
manage its land grant, which amounts to about 1,000,000 acres. 

Returning to Little Rock at nine o'clock in the evening, our party had the pleas- 
ure of again meeting Col. Loughborough, whom we had left in the morning, and 
whom it is a pleasure to meet after ha-^ing once, made his acquaintance and 
profited by his information. The names of Col. Loughborough, Col. Slack and 
T. B. Mills mil not soon be forgotten by the excursionists, and they will be 
remembered as gentlemen who were ever ready to administer to the comfort of 
our partj^, or give any required information, in a pleasant, unostentatious 
manner. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 187 



FROM "IN-DOOR AND OUT," INDIANAPOLIS 



"W. F. WADSWOETH, Editor. 



"We left Indianapolis, making St. Louis over the popular Vandalia line on time, 
crossing the "father of waters," the Mississippi, on that grand monument of 
mechanical ability, the big bridge ; thence passing through the" tunnel under the 
city, we were once more ushered into dayhght in St. Louis. We met our genial 
hosts. Col. Loughborough and T. B. Mills, at the Southern Hotel, and after 
spending the day in looking over the city, pulled out at nine o'clock p. m. on the 
train placed at the disposal of the excursionists, consisting of four Pullman, one 
day and one baggage car. We reached Little Rock at three p.m. the next day, 
where we were greeted by hosts of citizens, music and cheers that were hearty 
in the extreme. Here our party separated to dine with the citizens of Little 
Rock ; and youi' correspondent will ever remember the pleasant hour passed 
at the elegant table of our city host, O. S. Warren, of the firm of T. B. 
Mills & Co- 

■ Little Rock claims 20,000 inhabitants, and is surrounded by a fine country, 
and elements of growth which must at no distant day make of it a large and 
flourishing city. It has some handsome residences and a few fine three-story 
business blocks and hotels. The real estate ofl^ce of T. B. Mills & Co. is the 
finest oflfice in the city; indeed, we have none in our city of concentric circles 
and live real estate men which can compare with it. They have one of the most 
comjilete reading-rooms in the West ; files of 800 papers are so arranged that 
from the index you can put your hand on any cne you want at a moment's time. 
The stranger can here find his home paper, and a cozy place in which to read it. 
Right here I would say that the enterprising firm of T. B. Mills & Co. deserve 
the success they are finding. " Long may they prosper. " 

The people of Little Rock spread a banquet at Concordia Hall in the evening, 
which was an entire success, after which we took our rooms in Pullman's palaces 
and awoke at Malvern, from whence we took passage over the narrow-gauge 
road (being built from this point to Hot Springs by Joseph Reynolds, of Chicago, 
a private enterprise costing about $350,000) to the jumping-off" place among the 
hills, 14 miles from Hot Springs, where we were met by a delegation of Hot Springs 
people, with hacks, omnibuses and wagons in which to transport us across the 
hills to the fastest little town in the country, nestled down between the hills, 
surrounded by a country that looks as if it would not grow white beans. Fast 
does not hardly express it in speaking of this town. With nothing but hot water 
coming from the hills to make a town out of, still they have one of 3,000 inhabi- 
tants. Street cars, hotels, saloons without number, and everything else one 
would expect to see, and some things they would not. 



188 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

The springs themselves are indeed wonderful; coming as they do, 42 in 
number, steaming hot — so hot, indeed, that you can cook eggs in them — from 
the side, top and base of the hills, with their different mineral properties, arsenic, 
iron, etc., and many invalids come here to get the benefit of nature's great 
panacea. 

The title to the land on which these springs are located, comprising two full 
sections, is in dispute, and when this dispute is settled so that parties may 
know they are getting a title to what they buy, I expect to see Hot Springs, in 
spite of its surroundings, make a -town in which to have a good investment is to 
have a fortune. The hotels were open to the editors, and we were treated in a 
princely manner. The gay and festive throng at the Arlington for the dance in 
the evening was enjoyable, and I, for one, felt like putting my beaver under my 
arm and making my most profound bow to the ladies in attendance in general, 
and to one or two in particular ; may their roses never fade and their smiles 
never vanish. 

Back to the Iron Mountain road, and then a run down to the Texas line, 
through the cotton-fields of the State, with a barbecue at Arkadelphia, took up 
our next day. 

At Forrest City, in company with A. R. Grady, a most companionable gentle- 
man, I drove into the country a little distance to a plantation of 640 acres, 
where we went through a cotton-field of 200 acres, that would average as high as 
my head. Coming back to Little Rock we j^ulled for home, having had a most 
enjoyable trip. I have no doubt, if Arkansas gets the emigration she should, 
that, with her vast resources, she will take a leading place among the sisterhood 
of States. 

Greetings from the Southern gentlemen were of a warm and generous wel- 
come, with assurances that Northern men would never regret a removal to the 
sunny South, and that that was the one thing thej^ desired to see. "Nary a 
bowie-knife on the trip," but a generous, glorious time. May the State, as a 
State, prosper, and T. B. Mills & Co. and J. M. Loughborough, who planned 
and carried into execution this excursion, with such signal generosity and suc- 
cess, see the wilderness blossom and their fortunes increase. 



From THE "ELKHART DAILY OBSRVER.' 



Rev. "W, a. CLARK, Correspondent. 



Through the kindness of Mr. Molloy, editor of the Elkhart Observer, we were 
invited to represent it in the editorial excursion through Arkansas. The editors 
of the Northwest being indebted to Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commis- 
sioner of the Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad Companj^, and Col. T. B. 
Mills, of Little Rock, Arkansas. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 189 

The excursionists, a hundred in number, gathered at St. Louis during the 
day, September 28th. As the special train did not start until nine p. m., we had 
a good opportunity to inspect the "town" at the other end of the bridge. 
Ha\-ing lived some time in Chicago we had a prejudice against St. Louis, and 
hasten now to acknowledge that former opinions were erroneous. St. Louis is 
in many respects far ahead of Chicago, evidently has a larger population, more 
cautious in its business enterprises ; and while the latter has some finer structures 
than any in the former, as a city St. Louis is much the best built city. There being 
no wooden buildings to coax a conflagration, it wiU never have such terrible 
destruction of property as has befallen so many wooden towns. The streets in 
the old part" of the city are very narrow, the most serious objection to be urged 
against it, but back from the river there are many broad and magnificent ave- 
nues. It is well supplied with pubUc markets — and this we found to be a feature 
of Southern cities — public buildings, easy of access to both the producer and 
consumer, where the farmers, gardeners, etc., offer for sale their merchandise 
directly to the citizens. As a consequence of this system, fruit, vegetables and 
meats are 20 per cent, cheaper to the consumer than they would otherwise be. 
These mai'kets are kept neatly, and the stalls are rented at a nominal sum and 
are the property of the city. 

We visited several pubhc libraries. One, called the St. Louis Public School 
Library, is beyond question the finest and most extensive m the West. Chicago 
is sadly behind in this matter, as any one who has spent any time there has 
certainly leai'ned. 

THE EXCURSION, 

At nine o'clock p. m. the " pencil-shovers " gathered at the depot of the Iron 
Mountain & Southern Eaih-oad, where we found a train, consisting of five Pull- 
man cars and one day coach, placed at our disposal for five days. Being as- 
signed luxurious quarters we started for the Southwest. On the morning of the 
29th, on rubbing our eyes, we found that we were actual^ "Arkansas Travel- 
lers," whether we had learned the " turn of the tune " or not. 

At the State hue a little village has recently sprung up and been christened 
]\Ioark. The Times man exclaimed ' ' Jerusha, what a name ! ' ' but Col. Mills 
informed us it signified two great States bound together, "Mo." "Ark." 
At Walnut Eidge, a tillage of 200 inhabitants, we breakfasted. Here was a 
young black bear that took a decided liking to the Times man, but he kept out 
of its wa}^ much easier than he could have done after the Little Rock banquet. 

The country from Moark to Little Rock, 160 miles, is level and heavily 
timbered with poplar, oak and gum. A part of the way walnut and ash are 
abundant, and a few pine trees. It is intersected by the Little Red, White and 
Black rivers, all of them navigable half the year. Along these streams the coun- 
try is well improved, cotton, corn and wheat being the chief products. This is a 
magnificent fruit country, apples and peaches never failing. Back from the 
streams the country is wild, and lands can be bought for from $1.50 to $3 per 
acre, on long time. Towns are springing up on this railroad as by magic. 



190 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

A large Northern population is found here, and trains are' filled with men from 
Michigan, Indiana and Ilhnois, prospecting for good lands and a mild climate. 
At Judsonia we were heartil}'- welcomed by a large concourse of citizens. Here we 
observed a banner bearing the sentence, " The pen is mightier than the sword." 
Judsonia is a Northern colony of Baptists who went there three years ago. They 
have a fine callage and a good country. They have also a college, with good 
buildings, and an efficient faculty under the presidency of Rev. B. F. Thomas, a 
Welsh gentleman. 

We arrived at Little Rock about two p. m. , and were met at the depot by a 
delegation and music ; were made the guests of the citizens, and went out two 
and two, Apostle-hke. Your correspondent and Mr. Holliday, of Springfield, 
Ohio, were the guests of Judge Wassell, an old resident of Arkansas — a fine old 
English gentleman — who gave us a very candid history of their State troubles. 
At night a banquet was given by the citizens at Concordia Hall. Fine speeches 
were made, a hearty welcome given, and all were made to feel that they were 
among friends. Native wines, as Pat says, "all the way from Burgundy," 
flowed like water, and — but no tales out of school. 

LITTLE ROCK. 

We visited this place at the close of the war. It was then a rough-looking 
place, claiming 4,000 people, half of them "cuUud pussons." Judge our sur- 
prise at finding now a neat and finely built city of 20,000 souls, full of Yankee 
enterprise. 

HOT SPRINGS. 

We reached Hot Springs, 55 miles southwest of Little Rock, by way of Mal- 
vern, where we were transferred to flat cars on the narrow-gauge, were carried 
10 miles on it, thence by carriage to Hot Springs, 15 miles, over rocky hills and 
through rockier hollows. We found nestled among the mountains a town with 
one street, three miles long, just wide enough for a wagon road and street rail- 
way, and containing 4,000 people. Here is one of the world's wonders ; 54 
springs, ranging in temperature from 106 degrees to 166 degrees, flowing out of 
the mountain side, the lowest being in the channel of Hot Springs creek, the 
highest 96 feet above the creek ; and, strange to sa}', those farthest up the hill 
are the warmest. These springs are visited by thousands of invalids every year, 
and wonderful cures are wrought, its waters being prescribed for every human 
ailment except lung troubles, its greatest cures having been wrought in cases of 
scrofula and rheumatic affections. It is destined to be the "Weisbaden" of 
America. 

These springs form a creek large enough to run a mill, and a short distance 
below the springs is an old-fashioned flouring mill, with overshot wheel, run by 
hot water. By the theory of Darwin, we would call this old mill a connecting 
link between water and steam power. 

Returning to Malvern, we continued our excursion to Arkadelphia, a prosper- 
ous town in Southwestern Arkansas. This is a lovely country ; here ' ' cotton is 



INDIANA CORKESPONDENCE. 191 

king." Having visited the cotton-fields, feasted at an old-fashioned barbecue at 
Ai'kadelphia, and having the usual toasts and speeches, we returned to Little 
Rock during the night. 

UP THE ARKANSAS. 

By invitation of Col. Hartman (all Colonels and Generals in the South), the 
Superintendent of the Fort Smith & Little Rock Railroad, we took a special train 
westward Saturday at seven A. m. We went 115 miles west, passing through an 
undulating country, heavy timber, interspersed with small prairies. This part 
of the State is improving rapidly, and is destined to be the best of Arkansas. 
We visited extensive coal mines at Spadra, said to be the best coal west of the 
Mississippi. Lands are very cheap, $3 to $10 per acre. At Lewisburg we were 
shown a Tonqua cucumber weighing 64 pounds, corn-stalks a rod high, and Japan 
peas that yielded 200 bushels per acre on the poorest land. Corn yields from 
60 to 75 bushels per acre, wheat 25 to 35. 

Falhng in company with M. M. McGuire, of the Arkansas Independent, pub- 
lished at Dardanelle, he persuaded me to leave the excursion and stop with him 
a few days. We left the train at Russellville, and riding five miles southward, 
■v^e crossed the river and found ourselves in a beautiful town of 2,500 people, the 
most thriving town between Little Rock and Fort Smith. I preached on Sunday 
evening in the M. E. Church to a fine-looking audience, and much larger than 
assembles at any church in Elkhart. I also preached in the Baptist Church 
Monday and Tuesday nights to full houses. I was much pleased with both 
country and people. Hospitable, enterprising and intelligent, they are glad to 
welcome Northern people that come among them as law-abiding citizens. They 
are disgusted with transient politicians, and justly so. While stopping at Dar- 
danelle we visited Magazine Mountain, Dardanelle Rock and other objects of 
interest. We look back with great pleasure to a score of pleasant acquaintances 
found at Dardanelle, and can think of no place in the Southwest so inviting as 
either Dardanelle or Russellville. 

After leaving Western Arkansas we returned to St. Louis, much invigorated 
by the journey and feeling that it had been a good thing for us. So ended the 
excursion, and there ended our health and vigor, for we fell sick among strangers 
and found no good Samaritan. We decided that St. Louis physicians were 
"hard up" if the charge made us for a prescription was a sample. Arriving 
at Elkhart after ten d^ys' absence, disabled by sickness, we found that Elkhart 
has sympathy and hospitality to equal Southern chivalry. We like Elkhart, its 
enthusiastic enterprise, the frankness and generosity of its people ; it is a good 
place to come home to. But when the turning of the ministerial mill shall cut 
us loose from Elkhart, another excursion to Arkansas will be in order. 

IMPRESSIONS. 

As a summary of our observations we can safely say that Arkansas, for stock- 
raising, cotton-growing, hay, corn and wheat-farming, and fruit-growing, is 
equal to any of the Western State^. With its timber, coal, iron, lead, etc., it 



192 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

offers great inducements to the miner and mechanic. The laws are as rigidly 
enforced and society seems as quiet as in Indiana. Considering the climate, and 
mineral and agricultural resources of the State, we say, if people must change 
their abiding place, Arkansas holds out as great inducements as any part of our 
country. May peace and prosperity attend her. 



From the "LAWRENCEBURG PRESS." 



W. B. CHEW, Editor. 



Having accepted the invitation extended to the Press of the Northwest to 
^dsit the State of Arkansas, and having viewed its land, and shared the hospi- 
tality of its people, it becomes us to comply with their wish, the object of the 
excursion, " To have Ai'kansas written up as she is," and which we will endeavor 
to do. 

The train, composed of four sleepers, one day coach, and one baggage car, 
started from the depot of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, at 
9.20 p. M., Tuesday, September 28th, with about 125 persons aboard. Being 
tired, most of us having traveled from 200 to 600 miles the night and day pre- 
vious, we retired soon after starting. About daylight we crossed the Missouri 
and Arkansas State Une, and were passing thi'ough a heavily wooded country, 
■mth. an occasional break or opening, and here and there a small town or farm to 
break the monotony. We breakfasted .at Walnut Ridge at 8.30, then on to 
Little Rock, where we arrived at three p. m., and were received by an immense 
crowd, Avith music, huzzas, etc. During the evening a complimentary banquet 
was given at Concordia Hall by the citizens, and was one of the grandest affairs 
we ever attended. The hall was decorated on all sides with the stars and 
stripes, appropriate mottoes, and portraits of the Mayor, Chief of Fire Depait- 
ment, and Col. ' ' Sandy' ' Faulkner, deceased, the old original Arkansas Traveler. 
On the east side of the haU, in quotations, were the words, "Young man, go 
West," the sentence pointing South, and meaning by Little Rock. The supper 
was gotten up in No. 1 style, being entirely th^ products of Arkansas. The 
speech of welcome was delivered by Gen. R. C. Newton in an earnest, heartfelt 
manner. He was pleased to have eye-witnesses in the State to see the people as 
they are, that their manners, habits, etc., may be observed. He invited us to 
come back and visit them, bringing our friends, and finally to come and stay ; 
was glad the Northwest and Southwest were becoming known to each other, and 
hoped it might continue. 

We left at an early hour for Malvern, remaining until good daylight, then 
taking the narrow-gauge railroad (now being built), making connection eight, 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 193* 

miles out, with the stage line for Hot Springs, arriving there at three o'clock. 
Dinner, and a view of the place in the afternoon ; visiting the springs on the hill- 
side, 54 in number, many of which are hot enough to boil an egg, taldng baths, 
buying specimens, etc., being the chief enjoyment. Wc started for Malvern 
early next morning, taking our train and going down to Arkadelphia, where 
they had prepared a barbecue for us. 

Again taking the train, we went a few miles farther down into the cotton-fields, 
returned to Ai'kadelphia, where we had some short addresses, and then started 
on the return for Little Rock, where we arrived in time for breakfast. Here tlie 
party separated, some going by the Little Rock & Memphis Railroad as far as 
Forrest City, passing over both prairie and wooded lands, returning the same 
night ; the balance going over the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad as far as 
Fort Smith, visiting the coal mines, &c., returning the same night about an hour 
earlier than the other party. We took the sleepers again and were soon on our 
way back to St. Louis, where we arrived Sunday evening at six o'clock. 

The society of Arkansas is peaceable and quiet, and the people are disposed 
to promote the prosperity of all, whether native or foreign settlers. High 
crimes and misdemeanors, in proportion to population, are as few as in any place 
we know of. The health of the State is very good ; the counties along the Mis- 
sissippi are subject to diseases in the autumn, but the people of middle and 
western Arkansas enjoy the best of health. The soil in the valleys of the rivers 
produces any crops that are grown in the temperate zone. The forests consist of 
the different kinds of oak, hickory, gum, maple, ash, white and black walnut. 
This is the cotton, corn and grass region. The higher lands have a light-colored 
top soil, with clay sub-soil, and are well adapted to grain, fruit and pasturage. 
The northwest counties are best for the apple ; every portion is adapted to the 
peach and other fruits. The price of lands, for unimproved, varies from $1 to 
$5 per acre. Those who want a greater price than the above are not compelled 
by theii* necessities to sell, and are waiting for a better price. Labor is cheap, 
and in most cases plentiful. Good farm hands are employed at from $12 to $20 
per month. Cattle, horses and mules are bought at reasonable rates. Farut 
labor goes on every month in the year. It seldom gets cold enough to stop 
clearing and fencing, or plowing lands at any season of the year. Two crops are 
frequently grown on the same land, corn, sweet potatoes, peas and beans being 
planted after wheat and oats have been taken in. Arkansas has 3,500 miles of 
water transportation, the Mississippi on her eastern border, the Arkansas, 
White, Black, St. Francis, Cache, Red and Ouachita rivers being the principal 
streams within. These rivers are generally navigable from six to twelve months 
of the year. In addition to her water facilities she has over 700 miles of com- 
pleted railway, and ere many years every portion will be amply supplied. 

We have ' ' written up Arkansas ' ' simply as we saw it, which is all that was 
asked, and the people of the North are expected to judge for themselves. 



13 



194 HE ISIEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



FROM THE "BLUFFTON BANNER." 



W. J. CEAIG, Editor. 



It was about three p. m. when our special train left Malvern for Texarkana, 
Texas, and good time was made to the first stopping place, Arkadelphia, a very 
sprightly town, situated in one of the best sections of the State. The citizens 
of that place had in readiness a regular old-fashioned barbecue — three beeves, 
several shoats, six sheep, and a quantity of wild game — gotten up in the highest 
style of the culinary art. The feasting ended, our party returned to the cars, 
and, accompanied by a number of citizens of Clark county, together with a 
dozen or more of their handsome young ladies, proceeded south at a good rate 
of speed until night drew her mantle over the beautiful landscape. A few miles 
below Arkadelphia the cars stopped at an immense cotton-field, afibrding those 
who had never seen the lil^e before an opportunity to watch a party of darkies 
picking the snowy product. 

The programme contemplated a visit to Texarkana, but the delays at Hot 
Springs and Malvern cut off about 40 miles of the journey. Returning, a stop 
was made at Ai'kadelphia in order that the more enthusiastic might have another 
opportunity to air their eloquence. The speeches at the Eeames Hotel were 
appropriate to the occasion and well timed, with perhaps one exception. The 
best of feeling prevailed, however, and it was not until a late hour that the 
meeting dissolved and we sought our places in the sleeping cars. Morning 
found us again at Little Rock, with an invitation to ride over the Fort Smith 
Railroad, or, if preferred, in the direction of Memphis. The party then divided 
about equall}^, those going east returning with the most enthusiastic accounts of 
the country they found as far as Duvall's Bluffs, near Memphis. The trip west 
was most delightful, and extended to Spadra Bluffs, the present terminus of the 
railroad, at which point the party were invited to continue the journey by stage 
to Fort Smith, Indian Territory. Quite a number accepted the invitation. I 
have not heard how many of them got their hair ' ' lifted ' ' over there. 

I will not consume more space in a further description of the journey home 
from Little Rock, and in what I have already written I was obliged to study 
brevity and omit very many things deser^dng of mention. I desire, however, 
to indulge in a few observations of a general character, promising to do so in as 
few words as possible. 

A word concerning Little Rock, the capital of the State. It is a neat little 
city of about 20,000 inhabitants, occup3dng a fine location on the south bank of 
the Arkansas river. At the close of the war the place had barely 5,000 popu- 
lation, and when we consider the outrageous manner in which her people have 
been plundered by infernal carpet-baggers, it is indeed a matter for surprise 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 195 

that the city did not lapse into nothingness instead of making such satisfactory- 
advancement. The local administration is now in the hands of a set of men 
who have an eye single to the welfare of the community, and a better era is 
thereby inaugurated. Little Rock must some day be a city of considerable 
commercial importance. With a mighty river at her feet, and railroads stretch- 
ing to the north, south, east and west, she will be the natural distributing point 
for a. large section of the finest country west of the Mississippi. Manufactories 
more than anj'lhing else are the especial want of Little Rock, and as the State 
fills up, capitalists will find that city the best location for all kinds of manufac- 
turing establishments. 

Of the State at large a great deal could be said without even entering upon 
more important details, and I will not therefore occupy more space than to 
mention one or two matters of a general character. 

The government is entirely satisfactory to the whole people. There is no 
reign of terror, or Ku-Kluxism, any more than in Indiana or the most peaceable 
State in the Union. More deeds of violence are enacted in Indiana than in 
Arkansas. Life and property are as safe there as anywhere. Nay, more ; the 
man who emigrates to Arkansas to find a home and act the part of an honest 
citizen will find in the people of that State a welcome which he could not find 
here. Their friendship is of no uncertain character, and their hospitality is 
proverbial. In their present condition they realize that they need immigration 
— capital and Northern muscle— and the hand of true friendship is promptly 
extended to all honest men who seek an abiding place there. The people have 
in good faith accepted the situation. If bitterness rankles in the bosoms of 
any, it was so carefully concealed as not to be discernible. They who wore the 
gray were at all the receptions, and uttered as loyal sentiments as our language 
can frame. The past is buried, undoubtedly buried beyond resurrection. I am 
not mistaken in this conclusion, for more than anything else, perhaps, I wanted 
to see and know the true condition of society there. I am fully satisfied that it 
is all that the most timid person could desire. 

In an agricultural point of ^dew Arkansas ranks high. The soil is rich and 
deep, enabling the farmers to raise good crops and play half their time. My 
attention was directed to a plantation that had been worked 60 years without a 
pound of any kind of fertilizing substance. The crops were good. So it is 
throughout the entire State. Farmers there know nothing of rotation of crops, 
the use of improved agricultural machinery, or the various appliances to which 
our Northern farmers are obliged to resort for the usual crops. 

Timbered lands comprise a large proportion of the country, and the timber is 
excellent and of varieties similar to those of our own latitude. 

In different parts of the State are found rich deposits of iron ore, zinc, lead, 
and other valuable metals ; also marble, granite, limestone, salt and slate, in 
quantities extensive enough to occasion surprise that capital has not been lav- 
ishly expended thereon. Arkansas does not seem to be lacking in anything that 
would be available in the hands of a more enterprising people. Her population 
numbers about 600,000, about one-fourth of whom are negroes. The poorer 



196 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

class of whites do not seem to be one whit superior to the negroes on general 
principles. Neither they nor the negroes work more than three days in the 
week. One is as lazy as the other. K they would expend one-half the labor 
on their crops that our Northern farmers do, the yield would be enormous. 

Cotton is the great staple. The cotton country embraces about 6,500,000 
acres, a portion of which has never been cultivated. The crop of 1871 was 
estimated at 300,000 bales, worth not less than $75 per bale. The crop this 
year is the best ever raised in the State. 

All kinds of grain and vegetables are successfully raised, nearly all of which 
are of a quality superior to those raised in the North. And it is naturally a. 
better fruit country — the finest in the world. 

The coal-fields embrace over 7,500,000 acres. It is an excellent article for 
manufacturing and domestic purposes, and yields largely, some veins being ten 
feet in thickness. 

The future Of Arkansas is brighter than that of any other State south of 
Mason and Dixon's line. She has been forever under a cloud, and her wealth, 
of minerals, and other great natural advantages, have been almost entirely 
unknown. When the surplus population Of the more crowded portions of the 
country realize the true situation there, it will not be long until there will be 
enough willing hands to develop those mighty resources, and Arkansas will 
speedily find her proper position in the sisterhood of States. She is destined to 
be one of the brightest stars in the constellation. 



From the "DECATUR PRESS." 



CORTEZ EWING, CORRESPONDENT. 



The editor of the Press having accepted the invitation of Hon. J. M. Lough- 
borough to become the guest of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad 
in an excursion through the State of Arkansas, the writer of this article was dele- 
gated as the representative of that paper in the excursion, and having accepted 
the hospitality of that road and of the people of that State, it is due them, as 
well 8LS the readers of this paper, to give a faithful, honest and fair statement of 
the condition of that State, its products and its resources. 

The object of the excursion was to have published all over the Northwest the 
true condition of that neglected and almost unknown State ; and the projectors, 
Hon. J. M. Loughborough, a Senator of the State of Arkansas, and Land Com- 
missioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and T. B. Mills 
& Co., real estate agents at Little Rock, spared no effort to make it a success. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 197 

On Tuesday night, September 28, four elegantly equipped PuUman coaches 
left the depot of that road at St. Louis with about 100 guests aboard, and on 
Wednesday morning the party breakfasted at Walnut Ridge, 225 miles from St. 
Louis. This station is between the Cache (pronounced Cash) river and Black 
river, is surrounded by dense forests, and has a fertile soil, with here and there 
a patch in cultivation. Here Judge Shirk has a plantation of 2,000 acres, upon 
which there is some corn and cotton now matured. After breakfast we pro- 
ceeded to Little Rock, a distance of 346 miles from St. Louis, and were met by 
the citizens, who invited us to their hospitable homes, the writer being the guest 
of Dr. McAlmont. At night a magnificent banquet was spread before us, and 
the toasts and responses demonstrated the fact that Little Rock can produce 
more natural orators to the square foot than any city in the Union. Our party 
was deficient in this respect, and after three Indiana men had attempted responses, 
another, realizing the situation, proposed a voluntary toast, "The three d^d 
fools from Indiana," which elicited rounds of applause. 

After the banquet we proceeded to Malvern, a railroad station 43 miles farther 
south, where leaving our train we were conveyed on flat cars on a narrow-gauge 
railroad about 10 miles, and thence by stage over a rough, mountainous country 
to Hot Springs, where we were entertained by the citizens, and a grand ball given 
at night. Having enjoyed the hospitalities of this city, the writer a guest of the 
Grand Central Hotel, we returned to Malvern and proceeded to Arkadelphia, on 
the south bank of the Ouachita (pronounced Washita) river, where an old-fash- 
ioned barbecue was provided for us. Having proceeded a few miles farther 
south we returned by rail to Little Rock, and from thence by the Little Rock & 
Fort Smith Railway 120 miles up the Arkansas river, and from thence returning 
via Little Rock and th§ Iron Mountain Railroad home, having traveled 744 miles 
in the State of Arkansas, and 1,684 miles altogether on this excursion. 

Little Rock is a city claiming 20,000 inhabitants, on the south bank of the 
Arkansas river, having houses of modern architecture, one or more streets of 
Nicholson pavement, fancy teams and turnouts, and a live city generally, awake 
to the importance of immigration, and anxiously asking for our laborers, mechan- 
ics and artisans to come and make their homes with them. 

Hot Springs is a city of 3,000 inhabitants, situated between two spurs of the 
Ozark Mountains, and occupies a valley which runs north and south. It is sur- 
rounded by hills, lilie the city of Bath in England and Baden-Baden in Germany. 
Its water is never-failing, and although hot enough to boil an egg, does not sicken 
the stomach when drank. As yet it is accessible only by 26 miles of rough 
staging from Malvern on the railroad, and still there are, on an average, 1,500 
visitors there all the time, trying to restore injured health. The rich have good 
accommodations, while the poor tent on "Ral Hill." Most persons who come 
to these springs having venereal diseases claim that their ailment is ' ' neuralgia, ' ' 
and the vulgar, by way of abbreviation, call the hill set apart for the poor thus 
afflicted, "Ral Hill." Its visitors are from all parts of the world, and those 
aflflicted with scrofula, neuralgia and venereal diseases, as well as the conse- 
quences of intoxicants, go home invariably restored to health. It will soon be 



198 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

accessible by rail. The title to the ground upon which it is situated will soon be 
settled, when its fortune cannot be estimated. It is isolated, and is supplied 
with butter, ' eggs, cabbage, potatoes, beef and pork from St. Louis and the 
North. This shows the indolence and worthlessness of the surrounding people. 

The soil of Ai'kansas is as good as the average of States ; its minerals, if 
fully developed, would fully equal if not surpass those of any other State ; coal 
and iron are being found in abundance ; its timber is magnificent, the large 
pine forests being inexhaustible. It needs development; its population has no 
industry ; it does not contain the necessary laborers, farmers and mechanics to' 
develop it, and the intelligent portion of her people are crying out about it and 
inviting tlie world to come within her borders and make their homes there. 

There are no cattle, horses or hogs in Arkansas worth mentioning, except a 
few horses imported from the North. We can not conceive of a better specula- 
tion than to take a good stock of 'breeding animals of the kind indicated into 
that State and raise and sell to her people good stock, unless it be to take 
saw-mills and make and ship lumber from her timber. 

The soil of Arkansas produces as good wheat, corn and hay as ours ; cotton 
is produced in large quantities ; the climate is better than ours ; and with all 
these advantages we can hardly conceive why so many of her people are so 
worthless. And yet our country was inhabited to some extent by the same 
class of people 30 years ago, and as industry and civilization advanced the 
worthless and indolent moved on, just as it will be in Arkansas when the tide of 
immigration sets in that direction, as it surely will. 

We acknowledge the obligations we are under to that magnificent railroad 
between Indianapolis and St. Louis, the Vandalia ; and to Senator Loughbor- 
ough, T. B. Mills & Co., and the hospitable people of Arkansas ; and if we 
have done them any injvistice we will correct it if our attention be called to it. 



FROM THE "FORT WAYNE GAZETTE. 



H. H. KOBINSOX, Correspondent. 



LETTER NO. I. 



Three-fourths of Arkansas, probably, are in the woods, and yet Its agricul- 
ture, although far from systematic, makes a noticeable exhibit. Such products 
as are named below were taken to the fairs at Chicago and St. Louis last fall, 
and they suggest that cotton and corn are not its only perfectible crops. Wheat 
six feet high, with six-inch heads well filled; oats seven feet high, with heads 
eighteen inches long ; millet nine feet high, with nine-inch heads ; red clover of 
four tons to the acre ; timothy five and a half feet high, yielding four tons to 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 199 

the acre ; red top four feet high, giving three tons to the acre ; blue grass four 
and a half feet high ; orchard grass five feet high and yielding three tons to the 
acre ; Hungarian grass four feet high from the second crop this year ; corn- 
stalks, one nineteen feet high, and another of twelve ears., five of which were 
eleven inches long. The list is quoted upon the authority of a gentleman who 
was commissioned to represent Arkansas upon those occasions. Much attention 
is also given to the orchard and the vineyard in many parts of the State, and 
the climate is very congenial to both. Even the Press and Bench may be said 
to be pomological, for it has been stated with emphatic pride that on the farm of 
the venerable Woodruff, who founded the Little Rock Gazette 56 years ago, a 
quince was grown last season with a weight of over 14 ounces and a circum- 
ference of over 13 inches ; and that on the farm of Judge Walker, of the 
Supreme Court, in Washington county, a Fall Queen apple grew to a weight 
of 17 ounces. His Honor, who has been appointed by the Governor to speak 
for the State at Philadelphia nest year, and who, \)j the way, is reputed to 
be an accomplished and eloquent gentleman, of advanced years, has further 
bucolic credit in the production of corn whose 42 ears make a bushel, and wheat 
whose average is 20 bushels. With such samples before him the skeptical 
outsider may blush, or possibly be induced to send for a copy of the Spirit of 
Arkansas^ published at Little Rock, and glean therefrom a full harvest of facts 
in detail. If he should be challenged to denj^ that the average value of land 
per acre throughout the State is only $5.25, that the average production per 
acre is $31.50, and that therefore the profit in such case resulting must be 
within a fraction of 500 per cent., let him confess and avoid the issue, as the 
lawyers have it, and go west of the Mississippi (and just south of Missouri) for 
a farm. He will then be further informed that, while too little attention has 
been directed to stock-raising, cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry are becoming 
considerable — except where Sambo is excessively tempted to have fresh meat, 
and the night is dark, and the lamb, the pig or the pullet is in his way as he 
returns from town or meeting — and that the sky, the field, and occasional shelter 
will sustain them and make them abound. The sixtieth thousand farm awaits 
him. If he avoids the furrow notwithstanding, let him enter the mighty woods 
of cypress, gum, pine, oak, hickory, walnut, maple, and the like, with axe or 
saw-mill, and the dawn of fortune will descend his tree-tops. If he yet doubts, 
let him go to Little Rock, find a regular Dr. Townsend in a former Hoosier of 
the name, and hunt for even deer within six miles of the capital, or bag 
abundant game in fields or woods around, or tr}^ the distant canebrake for a 
bear — and cease to hug delusion. 

It is difficult to speak of the mineral endowment of Arkansas without enthusi- 
asm. Gold and silver, ores of iron, zinc, lead, copper, gj^osum, manganese and 
antimony, as well as limestone, slate and marble, are deposited in its banks of 
wealth, while vast fields Qf coal are yielding their treasure to the touch of man. 
The region of the Arkansas is full of coal from a point somewhat north of Little 
Rock to Fort Smith, on the western border of the State, embracing an area, on 
both sides of the riA'-er, of 12,000 square miles. Three mines are in operation on 
the line of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad to make the prize available. 



200 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

The nearest to the capital is the Ouita, in Pope county, distant 70 miles, whose 
tract of 500 acres is claimed to have a vein of semi-anthracite three feet thick. 
The coal is excellent fuel, and experts have certified to its superior properties 
for smelting iron. It contains over 80 per cent, of fixed carbon and less than 
one per cent, of sulphur. The Spadra mine is in Johnson county, 100 miles from 
Little Kock. It represents 1,800 acres of property, 1,500 of which is supposed 
to have a continuous vein of semi-anthracite from three and a half to four feet in 
thickness. Its shaft is 45 feet deep, and its main and side galleries are capa- 
cious. It employs from 20 to 40 men, and produces some 50 tons per day. Its 
eoal contains more than 85 per cent, of fixed carbon, and the late Prof. D. D. 
Owen, State Geologist, and other scientists, have lauded it especially for the 
manufacture of iron. The Horsehead mine is also in Johnson county, and is 116 
miles from Little Rock and Ij miles from the track of the Little Rock & Fort 
Smith Railroad. It has a shaft of 37 fe^t, and a seam 4 1-6 feet thick in a field 
of 1,200 acres. Its coal has fixed carbon of less than 80 per cent., and it has 
been pronounced by such chemists as Chauvenet and Blair to be "a semi-anthra- 
cite of excellent quality, and showing a smaller ash than the vast majority of 
coal sold in St. Louis, whether bituminous or anthracite." The Spadra Com- 
pany has also a broad field of iron ore which is claimed to realize 46 per cent, of 
pig, and yield 10,000 tons per acre. The Kellogg Lead Mines, situated in 
Pulaski county, 10 miles from Little Rock, were discovered in 1847, but are now 
in operation for the first time. Their ore, which is argentiferous (having traces 
of gray sulphuret from 400 to 1,500 ounces to the ton), is claimed to have an 
;average of 80 per cent, of the valuable metal. The Bellah Lead and Silver Mines, 
of Sevier county, are part of the same vein, and yield 73 per cent, of lead, a ton 
of which contains 52 ounces of silver. In Newton county there are nitre beds 
from which saltpetre was largely taken during the war, and at Cave Creek the 
Boston Mountain Mining and Smelting Company, a Chicago enterprise, has 
begun its works. 

The State has sought to encourage these means of development, and kindred 
ones, by exempting capital engaged in "the manufacture of cotton, woolen 
goods and j^arns, agricultural implements, in tanneries, in the manufacture of 
cotton-seed oil, in mining and in smelting furnaces," from taxation for seven 
years from the 13th of October, 1874, the date upon which the new Constitution 
was ratified by the people. There are probably in the State 2,000 manufactories 
vof various kinds, 500 saw mUls, 350 grist mills, 50 tanneries, 20 carding miUs 
and 350 places of cotton ginning, with an aggregate capital of $4,000,000, and 
there are need and profit for many more. Such outlines perforce suggest the 
scope of productiveness and wealth for a State so generally decried. 

It is neither convenient nor advisable to review the political commotion which 
has marked the State for the past few years. The present Constitution, adopted 
by a popular majority exceeding 50,000, seems to have ^secured the rights of all 
classes, and to have designed an administration of affairs equal to the wants of 
the State, and accordant to the spirit of the times. The committee appointed by 
the convention which proposed it, to commend the Constitution to the people, 
stated much of earnest truth in this paragraph : 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 201 

" It is belieTOnty ^le main corrective of the abuses whicTi we have for several 
years past suse, oed will be found in that feature of the Constitution which 
submits all elections of civil officers to the people, thereby depriving the Execu- 
tive Department of the State of the power of appointment. The necessity of free 
and fair elections, uncontrolled by partisan appUances, has long been felt by our 
people. The abuse of this right — so long held inviolable — has stifled the popu- 
lar voice, given the reins of government to a faction, reduced our people to 
bankruptcy and impoverishment, inaugurated intestine feuds and revolutions, 
and disgraced our State." 

And it is confirmed to-day by the testimony of well-nigh every leading poli- 
tician of the Republican party. It is not infrequent to hear an avowal from 
that source that the methods by which the State has been carried and managed 
for years were dishonest and oppressive. The kind of men who assumed the 
mastery of Arkansas after reconstruction, and the results of their effrontery, 
have been stated by an eye-witness who, as an honest man and a reputable 
member of the Republican party, was inclined to present facts with severity. 
He is a Republican now, and a substantial merchant of Little Rock. In the 
Philadelphia Bulletin of November 17, 1869, appeared this extract from a letter 
written by him thereto from the capital : 

" The pohtical condition of the State is a most wretched and abominable one. 
A mean and corrupt class of Northern men, thrown upon the country by the 
accident of war, have worked themselves into the confidence of the negro, and 
they have used him to ride into power and control the politics of the State. 
Irresponsible men are placed in the highest and most important offices, and 
incompetency and corruption poison the sources of legislation and of j ustice, 
and lower the standard of public morals to a degree most painful to contem- 
plate. Suffice it to say that to this great CAal Arkansas is indebted for almost 
everything that retards her moral, social and material advancement. ' ' 

The picture was doubtless true, for your correspondent has seen many of 
its characters. It happily does not portray, however, the great majority of 
Republicans who have gone there, in the exercise of the American citizen's 
right, to earn their bread and aid to advance the unfortunate State. Nor does 
it reflect the condition of affairs at present. 

Governor Garland seems to be the best possible choice the people could have 
made to conciliate the factions and administer the State under the new constitu- 
tion. A native of the State, an able lawyer, and a shrewd, affable, energetic 
man of affairs, he has general respect and acquiescence. In fact, there are 
colored legislators I could name who could be induced to ' ' vote for him 
to-morrow" if that were possible, albeit their appreciation of the efficient 
executive may not yield votes in the next General Assembly to make Augustus 
H. Garland Senator in place of Powell Clayton. By the way, and by the waj- 
of conclusion hereto, the sitting Legislature has shown its contempt of the latter, 
who has been the autocrat of the State for years, by reducing the county 
bearing his name to Clay. Such is the weight of association. 



202 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

* '■■r70l£*' 

LETTER NO. II. " 

However inviting in climate and soil the State may be, the possible immigrant 
thereto is apt to inquire about its provisions for public order, education, debt 
and taxation. In these respects Arkansas, of course, is not comparable with 
the States northeast and northwest of the Mississippi, to whom " the shock, the 
shout, the groan of war" have brought far less of misfortune. And yet for a 
remote State, once branded as "the retreat of guerillas," with a rude and 
mixed population and a moderate supply of wealth, refinement and enterprise, 
its public peace is well preserved. There used to be acts of violence — when 
Republican officials in Pope and Johnson counties especially were limited to less 
than one term by the assassin's decree, and of plunder — when even invalids in 
quest of the remedial springs were waylaid and robbed bj' occasional . bands of 
outlaws ; but an operative militia law, supported by public sentiment, has made 
life and property reasonably secure. A great preventive of the deadly quarrels 
that used to rage has been made in the statute against concealed weapons. 
"Any person who shall wear or carry any pistol of any kind whatever, or any 
dirk, butcher or bowie-knife, or a sword or a spear in a cane, brass or metal 
knuckles, or razor, as a weapon," is liable to a fine of not less than $25 nor more 
than $100. The law allows one, however, to wear -or carry a weapon on his own 
premises, or on a journey, with his baggage. A further regulation for the 
public peace punishes the ku-klux with a fine of $500, and with impiisonment 
for 10 years, and renders him forever infamous. The State has, moreover, 
made a solemn guaranty of order to the nation, iu return for the action of 
Congress recognizing its right of self-government, which was transmitted to 
Speaker Blaine through the G-overnor, by direction of the G-eneral Assembly. 
I quote part of a resolution adopted by the Legislature expressing it : " Arkan- 
sas is hereby pledged to a fair, just and faithful enforcement of the laws, to the 
end that all people may still have their rights, and that her course shall be 
charity to all and malice toward none." All officers who fail to prosecute 
ofl'enders against such laws are liable to a fine of $25 to $300 and removal from 
office for the first dereliction. 

An obseiwation of several weeks, in widely separated sections of the State, 
leads me to attest its pacific condition. The relations of the races and of the 
parties seem free from bitterness or excitement. Crime exists to a considerable 
extent, but its form is mainly that of grand larceny, which there means the theft 
of property of the value of two dollars and upwards. It is but just to note that 
three-fourths of the inmates of the penitentiary are blaclvs who have committed 
that offense. There- may be desperate characters m the State, wno go armed 
cap-a-pie, but they so seldom emerge from their coverts to trespass upon person 
or property that their existence is a question of extreme doubt. The worst 
specimens of mankind seen by your correspondent were of the ungainty, un- 
kempt and stolid sort, who seemed too lazy to I'aise a violent hand ; and the only 
dangerous weapon observed was drawn in his presence by the excellent sheriff 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 203 

of Pulaski county, who deliberately opened his dirk and cut a plug of tobacco, 
for his own use, on a prominent corner of the capital. 

The State has a good system of public schools, which lacks means, however, 
to extend its benefits to both whites and blacks for more than three months of 
the year. The permanent fund in the treasury is about $30,000. Added to thi-s 
are sales of seminary, saline and 16th section lands — most of which have been 
made on credit, and for whose payment actions are now pending on behalf of 
the State — a tax of two mills on the dollar, which counties may increase by popu- 
lar vote to five, a per capita tax of one dollar on each voter, and all fines and 
forfeitures. Last year, by reason of irregularities, the revenue from these sources 
only reached $60,000, but there are delinquencies of $100,000 from which some- 
thing will be reaUzed. $400,000 are expected to be raised for school purposes 
the coming year. The State has about 400,000 acres remaining from national 
grants, 1,000,000 acres forfeited for taxes, and 2,500,000 more unconfirmed 
and in dispute. The General Assembly lately adopted a memorial to Congress 
for the donation of the balance of the public lands to the State, representing that 
they had remained unsold for 35 years ; that the sale of the Government's domain 
only defrays the expense of its land office ; that education is indispensable to the 
prosperity of the United States ; and that ' ' the unfortunate circumstances sur- 
rounding this State since the year 1861 have placed it in such an embarrassed 
financial condition that a suitable system of education cannot be established and 
maintained without assistance." That appeal for even 8,000,000 acres, lying in 
every county of the State, ought to be efl^ective. It appears from a report of 
Hon. J. C. Corbin, who was the colored Superintendent of Public Instruction, that 
for the year ending September 30th, 1873, there were 1,161 teachers, 1,035 school- 
houses, nearly 60,000 pupils, and 107,000 white and 37,000 colored children,; 
between the ages of 5 and 21, who might have been taught. The revenue for 
that year was $258,456, and the amount paid to teachers $259,747. No report 
has been published since, and the ofiice of Superintendent has been abolished, 
and its duties now devolve upon the Secretaiy of State. The High Schools 
throughout Arkansas are of a standard grade and are well attended. The Indus- 
trial University, at Fayetteville, with its Government grant, and aid from the 
State and the county of Washington, the place of its location, has a fund of 
$355,000, commodious buildings, good appointments and good prospects. 

In White county, at Judsonia, a Baptist colony from the University of 
Chicago owns 250 acfes, upon which they have formed an attractive and cir- 
cumspect village and established a college which is not designed to be sectarian. 
The location, 50 odd miles northwest of Little Rock, near the Iron Mountain 
Railway, on the Little Red river, is said to be favorable, and the future of the 
colony promising. At Pine Bluff ex-Superintendent Corbin, who is an intelli- 
gent and energetic gentleman, has been appointed by the Governor to inaugurate 
a Normal College. The Friends are well represented in the work of education 
by Southland College and Normal Institute, in Phillips county, liine miles from 
Helena, in a healthy and cultivated region. It began as an asylum, fostered by 
the 56th regiment of U. S. colored volunteers, for the education of destitute and 



204 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

orphan children of the black race. In 1866 barracks were removed to the 
site from Helena, and 30 of the 40 acres, deadened and fenced, were deeded 
in trust to the Missionary Board of the Indiana Yearly Meeting at Richmond. 
Since then 40 acres more have been added to the property, and ample and 
attractive buildings have been erected to meet the requirements of the growing 
institution. The transition from " a mule stable," in which the sagacious 
Matron (Mrs. Alida Clark) taught at Helena, in 1864, to the liberal appoint- 
ments of to-day, marks the thrift in which it has been conducted. It lias 
-advanced from an asylum in 1864 to a normal institute in 1869, and Southland 
College in 1874, with an attendance of 108 (24 in the normal class), a thorough 
course of four years, good instructors, library and apparatus. The present 
teacher of mathematics learned the alphabet seven years ago, at the age of 20, 
and bears the elegant name of Chandler Paschal. Sixty-five graduates of the 
place are now engaged as teachers there and elsewhere. The Quakers did well 
when they commissioned Calvin Clark to superintend so important a trust, and 
Calvin did his duty no less when he chose his wife for Matron. Aside from 
some aid through the Peabody fund and private subscribers (of whom let 
Whittier be named), the college is supported by the Yearly Meeting at Rich- 
mond. Friends in England, however, contribute $1,000 per year for the 
(education of orphans and of widows' daughters in the normal department. 

Ill December, 1874, the General Assembly — which declared itself the first 
one chosen by the people since 1868 that had been allowed to meet — created a 
State Board of Finance, with the Governor at its head, to issue and negotiate 
oertain bonds, amounting to $250,000, to defray the public expenses. It 
afterwards took occasion to pass a joint resolution empowering the board to 
•correspond with the bondholders of the State for the " settlement of all just 
debts on a basis which will be satisfactory to the people and within their ability 
to pay," and duly report their action to the Legislature. From the four 
preambles to that measure, which inveigh against the usurping and profligate 
administration of the State for the six years preceding, it appears that the 
public debt was very large and involved. In 1868 it is represented to have 
been, less cash in the treasury, under $3,000,000. From July, 1868., to 
October, 1874, more than $6,000,000, an average of $1,000,000 per year, was 
derived as revenue, and a floating debt was created of nearly $2,000,000, 
making a total of over $8,500,000 to represent the income of that period. Of 
that sum some $500,000 were expended for interest and for the sinking fund, 
and an average of over $1,000,000 was used to pay the annual expense of a 
government which, the Legislature claimed, should not have exceeded $300,000. 
In those six years $3,350,000 of improvement bonds, $5,350,000 of railroad aid 
bonds, and $3,000,000 of levee bonds were added to the burdens of the State. 
On the first of July, 1875, as your correspondent has been authoiutatively 
informed, the entire principal of the debt of the State was $13,379,000, and 
the total interest $3,719,000 — a startling aggregate of $17,098,000. A million 
ana a half of the principal represents Auditor's warrants and Treasurer's cer- 
tificates, and about the same amount is for interest due on $842,000 of old 

/ 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 205 

bonds for the benefit of State and real estate banks, whose mortgage bonds the 
State holds in the sum of $2,250,000. The only bonds drawing more than six, 
per cent, interest are the levee bonds, bearing seven per cent., and the last 
issue bearing ten per cent. 

The General Assembly, in adjourned session last month, acted upon the recom- 
mendations of the Governor, and authorized the State Board of Finance to issue 
bonds (at a rate not less than 50 per cent, of their face) to secure necessary 
loans, and also to apply unappropriated money in the treasury to the payment 
of any obligations of the State issued since April, 1874. There are some $80,000 
in the pubhc coffers, which are guarded from speculation by the penalties of fine 
or imprisonment and disqualification to hold oflfice in the State for five years. 
Its debt seems overwhelming to a State like Ai'kansas, but much of it may be 
honorably reduced by compromise ; much is, perhaps, a nominal liability, and 
the confidence due the State, and its probable development, will insure more 
favorable loans if needed, and enable it to meet accruing interest and the ultimate 
principal. 

The new charter of the State has excellent provisions on the subject of taxation. 
The General Assembly cannot levy any taxes exceeding one per cent, of the 
assessed value of the property in the State for any given year. No county can 
impose a tax of more than five mills on the dollar for all purposes, except one 
not exceeding that percentage to meet debts created before the present Consti- 
tution. "Any citizen of any county, city or town may institute suit in behalf of 
himself and all others interested, to protect the inhabitants thereof against the 
enforcement of any illegal exactions whatever." For the year ending July 1st, 
1876, the State has ordered a tax of five miUs on the dollar for its administration, 
three mills to meet the interest on the pubhc debt, and two mills and a tax of 
one dollai- per voter for the pubhc schools. 

Not many years ago the assessments of property were liable to be capricious, 
for officers were allowed commissions on the amo^^nt of property listed, as well as. 
on the taxes collected ; but the present method requires equality and uniformity. 
The cash value of personal and real property assessed in 1872 is estimated at 
$130,000. 

It may be well to add, in this connection, that the Constitution is very liberal 
upon the exemption of property from execution. The honest but unfortunate 
single man or woman, resident of the State, may select $200 worth of personal 
property, in addition to wearing apparel, which shall be exempt from the grasp 
of Shylock ; and the married person, or head of a family, may have likewise $500 
in property, clothing added, free from execution, as well as a homestead of one 
acre in the city or of 160 acres, with improvements, in the country; provided he 
has paid for his real estate, and owes no creditor for repairs thereto, nor the 
public for taxes» 



206 THE NEW AKKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



LETTER NO. III. 



The first Legislature under tlie new Constitution held an adjourned session 
during November — in a capitol somewhat less plain and shabby, be it said, than 
the forlorn structure at Indianapolis — and your correspondent saw the manner 
of men of which it vras composed. . The Senate is founded on a rock, even 
the little rock whose ledge extends for many rods along the river and gives 
the capital city its peculiar name. From its eastern windows, moreover, may be 
seen the big rock towering in the distance — a prospect properly denied the lower 
house. . It has small lobbies and galleries and moderate furniture. Noticeable 
over the President's chair are good lithographs of Washington and Lincoln, 
framed in ebony and gilt, while a sizeable lambrequin separates the illustrious 
dead and adds a subdued effect to the wall. Beneath the ornamentation sat the 
Hon. Bradley Bunch, a Senator instead of a Lieutenant-Governor, as heretofore. 
The President is a sensible officer, of long residence in the State, and wide expe- 
rience in its affairs. The Senate contains 13 lawyers, 13 farmers, three mer- 
chants, one editor, and one ex-minister — in all 31 members of a very respectable 
body. Several of them have served the State for many years, and most of them 
are men of mature age. Senator Turner, who is one of the ablest lawyers of 
the State, ^ncl a North Carolinian by birth, expressed the thought to your cor- 
respondent that he had heard of our prominent fellow-citizen, the ex-Commis- 
sioner to the Sandwich Islands, who now presides over the Criminal Court of 
Allen county, to- wit, the Hon. James W. Borden, also a native of that Atlantic 
State. The Republican strength of the upper chamber consists of Col. Hay- 
cock, of Jefferson count}^, and the Hon. William H. Grey, colored, of Phillips, 
gentlemen of worth and public spirit. As the latter is the only representative 
of his race in this branch of the Legislature, and as he has special merits also, 
he is accorded the notice which follows. 

Mr. Grey was born in Virginia 45 years ago as a free mulatto, and passed 
several of his younger years in Washington City, where indeed he was a 
sprightly folder of documents for the House, and a favorite of Henry A. Wise. 
He took advantage of his surroundings, gained a respectable education, and 
fitted himself to become an exhorter of the Methodist faith. • In that capacity 
he came to Ai'kansas in 1864, from St. Louis. He afterwards engaged in 
baisiness, and attended considerably to the interests of the Republican party 
and of the State. He has received marks of popular favor, and held the 
important office of Commissioner of Lands and Emigration. He won dis- 
tinction at Philadelphia in 1872, as the first colored delegate to address a 
national convention. His effort upon that occasion is said to have been very 
eloquent and impressive, and he has the reputation of being one of the ablest 
speakers in the State. Of medium size, compactly formed, dignified in his 
bearing, with good features and pleasant address, the colored Senator cuts as 
good a figure as any of them in the hall._^ 

The House has no distinguished members, and is chiefly composed of farmers, 
of whom there are 70 of the 9*3 Representatives. Four lawyers, seven physi- 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 207 

cians, two preachers, two teachers, two mechanics, and an occasional "farmer 
and preacher," farmer and physician, and farmer and merchant, complete the 
roster. If the assembly is not marked by ability it deserves credit for profes- 
sions of religion, as 81 of its members are connected with various denomina- 
tions. It is an interesting fact that 86 of the body are natives of the South, 10 
of them having had birth in Arkansas. Three Buckeyes, one Sucker, one 
Scotchman and one Switzer represent its northern and foreign elements. Of 
the 11. Republicans in the House, nine are colored, and of the latter aU can read 
print, but only four can write. Eight of the blacks have been slaves, and seven 
of them in the State for which they now aid to perfect laws. Copeland, of 
Crittenden county, is the noted one of the colored members. He was born and 
educated at Oberlin, came to the State five years "ago, has practiced law for 
three years, and gained some property. He is a mulatto, 30 years old, of tall 
and active form, and has considerable effectiveness as a speaker. He is prob- 
ably not much below the best capacity of the House. The five counties 
represented therein by gentlemen of color are Phillips, (3), Jefferson, (3), 
Crittenden, Desha and Lee, the first two named being the wealthiest counties, 
except Pulaski, in the State. Speaker Pennington bears an his.toric name, but 
he will probably never be urged to be a distant successor of William, of New 
Jersey, in the chair of the national House. The plainness of the hall of 
Representatives, it is wonderful to be said, exceeds that of the State House at 
Indianapolis ; but then acoustics and galleries and the portraits of Washington, 
Lincoln, and even Grant, entitle the place to a general award of superiority to 
the former. There seems to have been nothing mean about the late General 
Assembly. It appropriated $15,000 for a respectable exhibition at Philadelphia 
next summer, and in both Houses positions were given to the press and (door-) 
posts to gentlemen of color. The appointee in the House was one of the most 
democratic fellows available — tall, awkward, dirtj^, ragged and coatless ; but it 
must not be concluded that he was worthy thus to serve the Assembly or to 
represent his progressive race. To end the subject, it may be remarked that 
Thomas W. Newton, Esq., the worthy Secretary of the Senate, is the only 
native of the State whom I recollect to have heard pronounce its name without 
ihe final ' ' saw, ' ' but possibly more of sas is permissible from such a source 
than from the alien or the \'isitor. 

What the 30,000 Grangers in the State propose to effect is not fully disclosed. 
Their Executive Committee, of which Attorney-General Hughes is chairman, has 
had a secret and protracted conference, and one of their ablest champions — Judge 
Jones, of Phillips county — took ' advantage of the session of the Legislature to 
make an able speech in their behalf in one of the halls of the capitol. It is obvi- 
ous that their organization has done much to promote agriculture and improve 
the social condition of tlie farmers, and it seems probable that the plan of co- 
operative stores soon to be undertaken will have some considerable effect upon 
trade. That plan limits the capital and shares of a given establishment, and 
divides its annual profits among the members of the Grange according to the 
proportion of their purchases to the sales. It also requires that goods shall be 
sold at current prices, and not at underbidding and precarious rates. The organ 



208 THK NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

of the Grangers at the capital has been devoted to the cause of inflation, but 
Attorney-General Hughes informed jour correspondent that there had been no 
authority for such advocacy, and that the Order throughout the State was not 
committed to that issue ; and yet I have met very few representatives of the 
league who have not expressed themselves in favor of the specious but pernicious 
cause. The pi-esence in the Legislature of those who classify themselves mer- 
chants and farmers, preachers and farmers, physicians and farmers, as well as 
the large majority of agriculturists on joint ballot, suggests how effective the 
Grangers may become in politics, over which, it is only just to say, they claim 
to exert no organized influence. They assuredly hold the balance of power, 
however, whether they intend to make weight or make light of public afl'airs. 

Little Rock is not inaptly named the Citj^ of Roses, for in the social quarters 
of the capital the bloom and fragrance of those royal flowers abound. A few 
handsome residences, and many delightful homes, inclosed in ample grounds,, 
and shaded with maple, elm, oak, sycamore, pine, pecan, magnolia and the China 
tree, give signs of taste and affluence. The fumes of manufacture have not 
become so dense as to impair the rose and the myrtle, or to inform the stranger 
where skilled mechanics may in groups be found. 

The site of Little Rock is high, undulating and picturesque. The Ai'kansas 
gives it wide boundary as it bends from the northwest to the southeast, and the 
Fourche range of small mountains makes a distant limit on the west. The 
plateau between the two has an area for a city of 150,000 instead of 15,000 
inhabitants, the probable population of the place to-day. As one approaches 
the city from the depot of the Iron Mountain road, he has a full view on his 
right of the high stone walls and the upper portions of the penitentiary. On his 
left, perched upon the southern bank of the river, are a few abodes which bear 
the vulgar and suggestive name of "Robbers' Row." Senators Clayton and 
Dorsey live on that literally ragged edge of the Ai-kansas. The hilly and sandy 
roads from the depot to the plane of the city are apt to disappoint the visitor, 
and lead him to expect a rural capital. Long stretches of clay and weeds con- 
firm the anticipation, but a drive through Markham and Main, its thoroughfares 
of trade, the several streets of residence, or about the Arsenal and Fair Grounds, 
reveals how much of substance and beauty the city really has. A handsome 
railway bridge of iron spans the river at the northeast, and from the old landing, 
a few squares south, a ferry-boat, propelled by steam, crosses it to Ai-genta, a 
neat and lively village on the eastern shore. North of the bridge Big Rock, at a 
distance of three miles from the capital, shows its bluff" front of 500 feet, as if 
proud of a range of bluestone, slate and quartz, and far circling woods complete 
the attractive landscape. The famous rock is 100 yards or so above the levee — 
whose trade, although yet considerable, has been reduced from the bulk of former 
years by the competing railway — and it extends some 80 feet into the river, with 
a height of 40 and a width of 90 feet. Its formation is of slate and quartz, in 
wliich even aureate traces have been found. At this point, in the commercial 
center of the city, the gas-works of the city ar^ located. They cost $175,000, a 
small amount of which went to the old Fort Wayne finn of Murray & Baker for 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 209 

castings. They furnish 50,000 cubic feet of gas, of 16 candle power, per day, 
at the rate of $5 per 1,000 — the profitableness of which supply may be inferred 
from a premium of 150 per cent, on the company's limited shares of stock. 
Twelve miles of main afford the city a large quantity of its artificial light. The 
only other manufactory in the city of any prominence is the planing mill of Cook, 
Gibb & Co., established nine years ago. It has broad facilities, and has given 
constant employment in better days to 100 men. There has been some difficulty 
in the firm which at present cripples the business. 

A sentence may be introduced here to state that the capital offers abundant 
material and inducements for the manufacture of agricultural implements, furni- 
ture, hubs and spokes, leather and cotton goods. The jobbing business of the 
city is confined to five groceries, three dry goods houses, and two hardware 
stores, and aggregates about $3,000,000 per year. The retail trade is large .and 
active, and is mainly conducted by Jewish houses, of which there are not less 
than 50 in the place. The majority of the merchants of Little Eock are from 
the North, and they do not seem to be distressed by ostracism. The cotton 
trade is especially brisk, although the capital is not in the most productive belt 
of the staple, and shipments of it, from October to March, will average 1,500 
bales per week. Thirteen churches, some commodious but none of marked 
architecture, do much to subdue the old Adam in the free and easy populace. 
They represent the denominations thus: Three Methodist, two Presbyterian, 
two Baptist, one Episcopal, one Hebrew, one Roman Catholic, two colored 
Methodist, and one colored Baptist. The Catholics have a large convent here. 
The Opera House is a creditable public hall. It has a capacity for a lucrative 
audience — -as Haverley's Minstrels must have thought when their receipts one 
night this season reached $1,200. The Metropolitan is the only hotel of any 
size, and that is kept on the European plan. The restaurant adjoining it is not 
what it should be, and one has to walk two squares to reach the modest quarters 
of Mr. Frank Mourey — an old Fort Wayner, be it recorded — to get a meal well 
prepared and of good variety. The Anthony House was some time since 
destroyed by fire, and it has left an excellent site for a much needed successor. 
The banking capital of Little Rock does not exceed, if it equals, $225,000. The 
Merchants' National Bank had a capital of $150,000, but it has been largely 
reduced. The German SaAdngs Bank has a capital of $50,000, and private 
brokers represent whatever more there may be. Accommodations from these 
sources seem less than progressive trade demands. 

The press of the city is limited to a couple of dailies, a German weekly, and 
the monthly Spirit of Arkansas. The Gazette is the leading issue of the State, 
and, with one or two exceptions, the oldest newspaper pubhshed west of the 
Mississippi river. It is in its fifty-sixth year, and was founded by the now 
venerable and hale Wm. E. Woodruff, who left New York a dozen years before 
young Greeley went to the metropolis to perfect his knowledge of the "art 
preservative." The paper is conducted by Major Wm. E. Woodruff, Jr., a son 
of the former, who is supposed to make the State organ pay. The Evening Star 
is a neat and sprightly sheet, issued from the office of the RepuUican, which 
14 



210 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELERS. 

suspended in April last upon the Democratic accession to power, after a success- 
ful career of eight years. It did the public printing from 1868 to 1874, and had 
a daily issue of 1,800 copies and a weekly of 4,500. The management of the 
paper was committed to Capt. John G. Price, and its political editorship came 
largely from Chief Justice McClure, "Poker Jack," then incumbent. Their 
joint efforts won a surplus of $53,000, which was lost through the failure of the 
Stoddard bank. Capt. Price is an Indianian (whose father is a physician at 
Valparaiso), and he has the corresponding pluck to make considerable out of 
that completely equipped office yet. The Spirit is a ^arge and enterprising 
paper, "devoted to the material interests of Arkansas.' It claims a circula- 
tion of 60,000 copies, and it does as much to promote immigration and give 
advance to the State as all other agencies combined. Messrs. T. B. MiUs & Co. 
left.Kansas but three years ago, yet to-day their press and real estate business 
reflect indeed the progressive spirit of the State. The army of 60,000 immi- 
grants who have come this year to turn the sword into the plowshare must 
enroll many thousands of their recruits. There are but four dailies in the 
State outside of the capital, and 55 issues in all, and 32 counties are without a 
local publication. 

The bar of Little Rock is a strong one, and that expression recalls the sonorous 
remark often quoted of Judge "Poland, chairman of the Congressional committee 
to investigate the late difficulties of the State, as he blandly sat in the ante- 
room of a certain saloon in the city and ordered the drinks for a party of 
friends : " I'll take a whisky toddy for mine — and, Mr. Waiter, make it rather 
strong, sir, rather strong! '' Major Gallagher, a pre-eminent chancery lawyer, 
ex- Attorney Gen. Yonley, (whose cast and manner suggest Ben. Butler), 
ex-Senator Eice, his brother Milton L., ex- Chancellor Rose, Governor Garland, 
Judge McClure, Gen. Newton, Col. Howard, (a talented pupil of Edwin M. 
Stanton's), Judge Warwick, Gen. Pomeroy, and Gen. Bishop, are the principal 
lawyers of the capital city, and their varied accomplishments can supply 
professional services for a future metropolis of the State larger than the most 
enthusiastic doth predict. The Bench of the Capital is very respectable. The 
S^upreme Court is efficient, and the Circuit and Chancexy courts are of distin- 
guished merit. Chancellor Eakin, by the way, published a paper at Washington, 
the seat of Hempstead county, in the southwestern corner of the State, before 
and during the war, and his issue, the Washington Telegraph, I think, was the 
only journal in the State that had continuous publication during that doleful 
period. He relates some sadly interesting incidents of the difficulties and losses 
he incurred to accomplish that result. 

The charitable institutions of the State located at the capital are for the deaf 
and dumb and for the blind, but provision for them in grounds and buildings is 
moderate. The penitentiary of Arkansas holds 350 convicts, 70 of whom are 
prisoners of the United States, and a large majority of them are colored, nine 
of the number being women. The Governor, in his message to the lately 
adjourned General Assembly, reported the buildings of the penitentiary as too 
smaU and as out of repair, and recommended the enlargement of the grounds 



» INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 211 

and the erection of ' ' additional buildings sufficient for the safe-keeping and 
comfort of the prisoners." At the instance of the editor of the Evening Star, 
of Little Rock, the Board of Commissioners of the penitentiary made recent 
inquiries into the management, and reported that the charges of insufficiency of 
food and clothing, of overworking the prisoners, and of "unmerciful beating" 
of them were not sustained, but they found that there had been " cases of 
TDeating and striking contrary to the rules," and they condemned " the vicious 
system" by which, under contract with the State, the lessee had made the 
convicts serviceable beyond the walls of the prison. 

It seems that in 1873 the Commissioners leased the penitentiary to John M. 
Peck for 10 years, with the privilege of employing the prisoners outside of it, on 
condition that he free the State from any expense for the conduct of the institu- 
tion. An assignee of Mr. Peck's interest — Col. Zeb. "Ward, who has had years 
of experience in Kentucky and Tennessee in the management of prisons — took 
charge of the place in 1874, and gave a special bond to fulfill the duties of lessee. 
For 21 months before the first agreement was made by the Commissioners it had 
cost the State $520,000 to run the reformatory machine. Under the present sys- 
tem the State is exempt from expense. Whether the lessee has made much from 
the employment of the con\acts for hire or for the cultivation of one of the largest 
cotton plantations in Pulaski county is not known to the writer — who adds, 
however, that he never saw a healthier body of men than the 100 prisoners who 
one evening in October Avere returning with very few guai'ds, and in good mood, 
from the valley of the Arkansas. Several of them straggled on the way, but 
made no effort for an easy escape from whatever of durance "sdle the penitentiary 
may represent. 

The Arsenal is worth a visit, not only for the sightly and commodious buildings, 
with their important stores, upon the attractive 40 acres, but for the society of 
such good representatives of the U. S. army as Major Wainright, Capt. Rose 
and Lieutenants Morrison, Rosencrantz, Woodbury and Cushman, of the 16th 
Infantry. The garrison consists of companies "C" and "I" of that regiment, 
and the troops and their quarters are a credit to the Government. The officers, 
especially the juniors, are duly gallant in the best circles of the city, and their 
opinions commend alike the attractiveness and cordiality of the ladies of Little 
Rock. 

A couple of miles southwest of the Arsenal is the national cemetery, where 
rest the remains of some 6,000 soldiers of the Republic, under a neatly sodded 
surface, dotted with little blocks of marble bearing the name of the deceased, 
and the number which refers to him in the records of the Superintendent's office. 
The grounds are tastefully prepared and completely drained, and at the entrance 
to them is a newly built lodge of noticeable style and comfort. Much of the 
credit of the improvements made during the past year in the cemetery is due to 
Lieut. Morrison, of the 16th U. S. Infantry, son of an ex-Treasurer of Indiana, 
and himself Lieutenant-Colonel of its 164th regiment of volunteers. Separated 
by. a stone wall from the nation's dead is the Confederate cemeterj^, and on last 
decoration day survivors of both sides of the late war met to pay the tributes of 



212 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. , 

the occasion, and to hear words of fraternal meaning from the orator who stood 
upon that artificial barrier. 

The schools, which are well conducted, and are attended by some 700 white and 
500 colored children throughout the year, and many other subjects relating to 
the city and its substantial county of Pulaski, must remain unnoticed. Even 
Joseph Brooks, the distinguished Postmaster of the city, ex-minister, ex-editor, 
and ex-Governor, and who came within one vote of the Methodist Bishopric of 
Iowa, and almost as near a seat in the U. S. Senate, and who in brains, earnest- 
ness and oratory surpasses, perhaps, any other citizen of the State, can only 
have this complimeutarj^ sentence. 



From THE "IJ^DIANA PATRIOT," ROCKVILLE. 



G. W. COLLINGS, Ei>itor. 



PAPER I. 



The great Northwestern Editorial Excursion left the Plum street depot in St. 
Loviis on Tuesday night, the 28th inst., at nine o'clock, by a special train con- 
sisting of locomotive, baggage car, one first-class passenger coach and five 
Pullman cars. Ample arrangements had been made for about l-"0 newspaper 
men who were the invited guests of the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad 
Company, and who represented all kinds of papers throughout the Northwest, 
from Pittsburgh to Topeka. The party took breakfast on Wednesday morning 
at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, and from there proceeded to Little Rock. The 
train stopped on this side of the rivCr, at Baring Cross, and the party went into 
the shops to see a wonderful cabinet made to be exhibited at the St. Louis Fair. 
It was made of timber grown in Arkansas, and contained the following varieties : 
Ash, beech, bois d'arc, cherrj'-, cedar, cj'press, gum, holly, hickory, oak, poplar, 
yellow pine, sassafras, and walnut. On the arrival in Little Rock the party 
were met by streaming banners and bands of music. It was now three o'clock, 
and by this time the average newspaper man sighed for some of the ' ' true 
inwardness," and the imdtation to dinner was as heartily accepted as it was 
given. The party dined with the citizens of Little Rock at their homes, and 
spent the evening driving about the city and seeing the sights, among which 
were the Chamber of Commerce Exposition, the agricultural show at the Fort 
Smith Railroad land office, the fine collection of minerals at the Iron Mountain 
depot, the reading-room, and other jilaces. A magnificent banquet was given at 
night, an account of which we will not attempt to give. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. , 213 

This excursion was one of more than ordinary importance. It was not, as 
excursions usually are, merely a pleasure trip. It was made for the purpose of 
gaining information. In the first place, the press in all its various phases 
throughout the Northwest was represented, and considering that the writer was 
not in the party when the article was written, it will not do violence to our 
native modesty to make the following quotation from the St. Louis Glohe- 
Democrat : ' ' The fine appearance and intelligent culture of the gentlemen 
composing the party was a matter of general comment. A finer set of men has 
seldom passed through the city." In the second place, the people of the 
Northwest have generally possessed Uttle knowledge of the climate, the soil, 
the resources and the society of Arkansas, and the little knowledge they have 
possessed has been supplemented \>y a vast amount of prejudice against that 
State. There has also been a spirit of hostility existing between these sections, 
and the ' ' late unpleasantness ' ' and the political troubles which have succeeded 
it have tended to keep alive this feeling. Having accompanied this excursion 
and gained as much information as our limited time would allow, we propose to 
"write it up." 

PAPER II. 

On the morning of the 29th of September, in company with Dr. Coates, we 
proceeded to the office of Col. A. W. Soper, Assistant General Superintendent of . 
the Iron Mountain Railroad, for the purpose of securing a pass down the road to 
overtake the excursionists who had gone the night before. Here we met Wm. R. 
Newmyer, of the Pittsburgh Advance, J. M. Jackson, of the Peru Republican^ and 
C. M. Brooke, of the Plymouth Mail and Magnet, all, like ourselves, "Arkansas 
Travelers," and all too late for the excursion train, and likewise all seeking 
after passes to take the first train down. We never rejoice at the misfortune 
of others, but in this case the old adage that "wretchedness likes company" 
was verified in a forcible manner, nor did a wi'etched and forlorn traveler ever 
have better company than the gentlemen whom we met at the Superintendent's 
office. 

At half-past nine the long train, loaded with travelers from all parts of the 
world, cotton planters and grain dealers, drovers and Texas emigrants, moved 
out from the depot. Sitting on the east side of the car, we could obtain a good 
view of the scenery and the river along whose bank the road runs for a distance 
of 30 miles. The water was covered with steamers, shrieking their arrival or 
departure, or with coal and iron barges filled with material for the furnaces and 
shops that line the banks of the river. Great iron furnaces and foundries sent 
up dense clouds of black smoke, which, hovering over them for a time, were 
finally dissipated by the wind. The train then shot past the United States Bar- 
racks, which stand on a hill overlooking the river, and we could see the sentinel 
pacing to and fro with his ceaseless tread, while the battery with its heavy guns— 
broad-mouthed dogs of war — looked down with a terrible frown on the water 
belojy^, bidding a stern defiance to any one who would offer an insult to Uncle 
Sam or his dominions. 



214 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Rattling on down the river, the broad waters to our left, and stony and preci- 
pitous rocks of the cliff to our right, we passed several streams which, if seen by 
themselves, would have been considered of some importance, but flowing into 
the ' ' Father of Waters, ' ' they were almost unnoticed. Finally, the road bent 
away to the right, and carried us into the interior of Missouri, a State which has 
been said to be "a child of compromise, and whose epitaph was written in char- 
acters of blood." There are, it is said, but four States in the Union which out- 
rank Missouri in regard to manufactories. With her rich mines, fertile soil, • 
great extent of navigable rivers and abundant timber, Missouri must of necessity 
be one of the foremost States in the Union. 

Our route from St. Louis to the southern border of the State was almost 
directly south. The foliage of some of the forests passed on that day's travel 
was exquisitely beautiful. This, of all seasons in the year, is the time to see 
our American forests. If the dark green and yellow, the russet and brown, the 
purple and scarlet robes clothing the lines of timber along the creeks and in the 
great woods, covering hundreds of acres, fail to please the beholder, he must 
•indeed be "fit for all manner of treason, stratagem and spoils." Here, in the 
" deep-tangled wildwood," are shaded lawns, as graceful and luxuriant in their 
very wildness as if they had been the product of careful cultivation. Sycamores 
and oak and elm lift their giant arms toward the sky, rejoicing in their strength, 
.while over all fall the graceful festoons of wild "vines. 

On our train went down the road, passing Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, 
places that we will notice more particularly on our return. At Bismark, 75 
miles from St. Louis, the Iron Mountain road is intersected by a road run- 
ning in a southeastern direction to Belmont, a town in Missouri just opposite to 
Columbus, Kentucky, and crossing the road from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to 
Cairo, at Charleston. Some time in the afternoon the boxes on some of the 
coaches began heating, and it was necessary for the train to make frequent 
stops to cool them. In the evening we passed Gad's Hill, a very shabby 
station ; the only thing causing any one to remember it is the fact that an 
express robbery took place there something more than a year ago. 

It was almost sunset when the train reached Piedmont, and a look out showed 
great flames issuing from two boxes. It was therefore necessary to stop, carry 
water and cool them, take out the burning packing and melted babbit metal, 
put in new copper and repack them before we could proceed. This took some 
time, and while it was going on we went out to make some new acquaintances, 
and to learn something of the country around. We saw a fellow standing at 
the corner of the depot. His arms and legs were long. He was angular, thin 
and cadaverous. It would take two such fellows to make a respectable shadow. 
He looked lean and hungry — a perfect impersonation of Mark Twain's coyote, 
and he looked as if he could run about as fast. His dress was somewhat 
uncouth. He wore an old, greasy, slouched hat. His hair and whiskers were 
long, unkempt and grizzly. His shoes were down at the heel, out at the sides 
and in front, and without strings. His shirt had been so patched that it was a 
serious question whether any of the original shirt was left or not. The remains 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 215 

of an old vest hiyig about him in shreds. His pants were ' ' butternut, ' ' out 
at the knee and fringed with wear at the bottom. In bold relief from the brown 
back-ground of the rear gleamed out two large, round, bright blue patches, 
reminding the beholder of the two full moons of Jupiter passing the ascending 
node. • He had a kind, intelligent face, and his native goodness entitled him to 
more of this world's goods than he had received in this country. His con- 
versation was candid, and when he spoke there was that in his words which 
ever satisfies the newspaper man — information. We interviewed him. He said 
the surrounding country was not fit for farming ; that the people who lived there 
tended little patches of ground here and there, wherever they could find a place 
sufliciently level ; that there was no stock in the country but the scrub variety 
and not much of that ; that the people were improvident and lazy ; that there 
was no trade in lumber or anj^thing else ; that the only work he could get to do 
was getting out hub timber at a dollar per day, and the market for this com- 
modity being supplied he could find now no employment at all. . 

Looking about at the signs over the doors in the town, among several which 
read " saloon " we saw " The Democrat Office." Pointing to it we inquired if 
there was a paper published in the tOwn and were informed there ivas one, but 
the editor, after vainly waving a flag of truce to the sheriff from the seat of his 
trowsers for several weeks, gave up in despair, and that "starved" had been 
written on the slab that marks the last resting-place of the ' ^Democrat. ' ' 

We then went into a little tumble-down shanty, over whose door we read 
"Refreshments." The proprietor's stock in trade was a box of crackers and 
half of a cheese. We asked if hg had any sandwiches. After staring into 
space for some time with such a look as Macbeth bestowed upon the airy dag- 
ger, he said he had ordered some, but they got delayed on the road and had not 
reached him. He evidently did not know what a sandwich was. 

The boxes being put in order we started on, but could not travel far at any 
time without stopping. Cause — hot box. ' The sun sank behind the forest trees 
and hills and left the world to darkness, except where it was illuminated by the 
flames from the hot boxes. We traveled, except when we stopped on account 
of hot boxes. We had hopes of overtaking our party at Malvern the next 
morning, but it was turned to bitter disappointment by — hot boxes. All kept 
in good spirits, excei)t when we had a hot box. And thus all night' long that 
specter of a hot box followed that train. Our conductor was a man of splendid 
temper. He would have swore if he had not been. As it was, he only said he 
must have some Jonah on board, who, fleeing from his duty, was followed by 
the avenging wrath of an overruling Providence. If the passengers on that 
train had been convinced that such was the case, and the culprit had been 
pointed out to, them, no whale would have ever got a chance to swallow him, 
though it might have been lying with its mouth open for the purpose. No 
chance would have ever been given to him to come back to saj^ ' ' Salvation is . 
of the Lord." 

The hot box business finally became desperate, and it was decided that one of 
the coaches could go no further, and must be side-tracked. It was the one 



216 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

containing the Texas emigrants, and when we smelt them wf; ceased to wonder 
at the hot box. The wonder now was that the whole train was not hot. The 
coaches were as full as they could be with comfort to the passengers before this 
one was left, and when those from the disabled coach came pouring in on to us 
it was terrible. It seemed that every woman had fifteen children, five of which 
seemed to be of the same size and age. They settled down in our coach in the 
corners, on the floor, in and on the wood-box, in the aisles and under the seats, 
thicker than the plagues of Egypt, and being shut up in the cars all day, it 
being too dusty to hoist a window, the aroma was not pleasant. 

At Poplar Bluff we got a sandwich and a cup of coffee. It was now past 
midnight, and, as sleep or rest was impossible, the passengers came to the 
unanimous conclusion that a train so subject to hot boxes should vanish in the 
infernal regions. i 

PAPER III. 

The night's travel had now become intensely monotonous, and seeking some 
antidote for the ennui, some respite from the memory of 'the pursuing phantom, 
the "hot box," we entered into a conversation with an old gentleman who 
occupied a seat near us. He was a millwright and a man of much intelhgence. 
His masculine voice, large whiskers and coarse brogans were not suggestive of 
the idea of a goddess, yet he seemed to possess the knowledge of both sylph 
and naiad goddesses of the woods and of the fountains. He discoursed fluently 
of the lumber business and of saw-mills, of the timber of the country and of 
mill seats ; and knowing nothing of the subject, we were soon bewildered with 
over-shot wheels, turbine wheels, 80-horse power, 20-horse power, tramways, 
trucks, etc. He gave us much information in regard to the Mississippi river and 
its pecuharitiee — a river in many respects the most remarkable in the world, and 
one to which geologists refer as illustrating, on a grand scale, the action of 
running water in shaping the surface of a continent. This grand river rises far 
to the north, in the regions of almost perpetual snow, and on the first part of 
its journey its waters are chilled by the bleak boreal winds, where the hunter, 
wrapped in furs, pursues his game '; it passes through the temperate zone, past 
corn and wheat fields, bustUng villages and great cities, bearing on its bosom 
giant steamers loaded with the fatness of the fertile bottom lands ; and after 
swallowing a half dozen of the greatest rivers in the world, it discharges its 
waters in the Gulf of Mexico, beneath tropical skies and in the regions of the 
rice,* of cotton and of sugar cane, more than 3,000 miles from "the lake in tUe 
woods" from which it rises. Below the mouth of the Missouri, the great 
' ' Father of Waters ' ' is very different in its character from the delightful, clear 
and inoffensive stream which, taking its rise from the sylvan lakes of the North, 
flows down by St. Paul, Rock Island, Burlington, Dubuque and Quincy — so 
different that those w^ho are acquainted with it sa,y that the part below ' ' Bio- 
Muddy" should have been called "Missouri," partaldng, as it does, so much of 
the character of that stream, particularly until it is modified by the waters of the 
Ohio, the Arkansas, the "^^Tiite and Red rivers. A look at the map will show 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 217 

you that the river is very crooked, its bends short, its banks zig-zag and angular, 
so that the current strikes itself against the banks at no two points with equal 
force. This causes the banks to be constantly cut away at one point and depos- 
ited in another, so that the current is continually shifting ; and a riparian 
owner on one side of the river sees his corn or cotton-fields slowly disappearing 
in the water to be deposited elsewhere further down the channel to increase the 
alluvial acreage of some other farmer, or to be deposited in the Gulf of Mexico, 
where new lands will at some time in the future rise out of its waters. 

The part of the river below the "rocky chain" which runs across it between 
St. Louis and Cairo is usually called the "Lower Mississippi." The "Missis- 
sippi Valley" is from 40 to 100 miles wide, being the alluvial bottom which lies 
between the bluffs, and through which the river runs, meandering from one side 
to the other. The bends in the river are so great that sometimes a steamboat 
will start from a given point, and after making a run of 25 miles come within a 
mile of the starting point. When the high waters come they often burst through 
the narrow tongue, and making a "cut-off" insulate a vast tract of land, and 
filling the two points of junction with the old channel with mud-banks, the river 
is entirely separated from it, and the old bend becomes a semi-circular lake — a 
splendid home for wild fowls and alligators. All of the Mississippi Valley is 
below the high-water line of the river, and when the fioods come the puerile 
efforts of man to stay the inundation, to beat back the rising waters and save 
the crops, fences, buildings and other property from utter destruction, are with- 
out effect. Water is everywhere, and the whole country becomes a swamp, 
the highways, rivers, lakes and lagoons assume the proportions of inland seas, 
and in an hour the planter sees his hundreds of acres, which were carefully pre- 
pared for the cotton-planting, submerged beneath the rising flood, and the wan 
ghost of starvation stands at a thousand doors. These inundations do not, 
however, occur very frequently. There was one in 1867 and another in 1874. 

A short distance below Poplar Bluff we come to the line between Missouri 
and Arkansas. At the line between these States there is a station, the name of 
which is made from the first syllable of the name of each State — Moark. Just 
to the east of us, when at this point, is the region of country which was so ter- 
ribly scourged by the earthquakes of 1811-12, commonly known as the New 
Madrid earthquakes. This v^as one of the very rare occurrences of the con- 
tinual quaking of the earth for a period of three months, and that far from a 
volcano. It is said that the earth rose in great undulations ; and when it reached 
a fearful hight, the soil burst, and vast volumes of water, sand and pit-coal 
were discharged into the air to a great hight. Many lives were lost, the people 
being swallowed by these openings, until it was observed that these chasms were 
in a direction from S.W. to N.E., and large trees were felled at right angles to 
the openings, and the inhabitants stationing themselves on the trunks of these 
trees were saved fi-om being buried alive. New Madrid, a town standing near 
the bank of the Mississippi, sunk so that the houses disappeared beneath the 
water, and at one time the ground below the tov/n swelled up so that the river 
was arrested in its course. It was at this time that the lake known as the ' ' Sunk 



218 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVKLKRS. 

Country" was formed. This lake lies across the line between Missouri and 
Arkansas and extends along the White river and its tributaries for about 80 
miles, and is about 30 miles wide. Before this earthquake it was an in\iting 
scope of country, covered with the habitations of men, with forest trees, and 
diversified with hills and rivulets ; when the quaking came it sunlv, and the waters 
from the river flowed into the basin, and full-grown trees were submerged so 
that one could paddle over the water in a canoe or skiff and see the old trunks 
of the forest trees standing leafless at the bottom of the lake. 

The millwright said that most of the countrj^ east of us and west of the Mis- 
sissippi was low, level flats and swamps, a great deal of it covered with cypress 
forests ; and further down we got a glimpse of growing cypress trees. They 
are a peculiar tree. At the bottom the roots "stool" out, forming a great 
pyramid, with a base 15 or 20 feet in diameter. The apex is about 15 feet high, 
from which the trunk of the tree shoots up in the air as straight as an arrow. 
This is valuable lumber, and the manner of getting it out is as peculiar as the 
tree itself. There are two reasons why they cannot get it out in the dry 
season ; one is because the pyramidal base is so large that they cannot cut the 
tree down, and the other is that these great stumps grow so close together that 
there is no room to get a team among them. They therefore wait till the wet 
season, as cousin Sallie Dillard says, "when the swamps are up," and then 
they take their axes in their canoes and paddle up to a tree and cut it off above 
the " swell," and fall it in the water. Paddling along the trunk they trim it of 
its branches, cut it off at the top, and float it out on the water. 

The morning finally came, and still we had hot boxes. Getting down in the 
White river region two novel sights presented themselves — one, pine forests, 
the other, cotton-fields — neither of which we had ever before seen. We crossed 
White river and stopped at a little station called Beebee, named for the founder 
of the Banner of Liberty, an evidence that Jeffersonian Democracy prevailed 
there. 

One of the boxes on the baggage car had reached a white heat, and the car 
could go no further. It was accordingly side-tracked and the baggage trans- 
ferred to a box car. We then got along at a comfortable rate, and were soon 
in the fertile bottom of the Arkansas, and a little later we saw the stars and 
stripes waving over the United States Barracks at Little Rock. The city loomed 
up grandly across the river, and standing on the platform of a car while crossing 
the bridge, Col. Slack, Land Commissioner of the Little Rock and Fort Smith 
Railroad, explained that the way Little Rock got its name was from the fact that 
the first boat that came up the Arkansas found rock at this point, the first from 
its mouth. On the south side of the river, where there is a cut made through 
the bank for the railroad, there is an outcrop of shale with a dip of about 45 
degrees. The direction of the dip is northwest, at an angle of about 45 degrees 
with the channel of the river. 

The railroad crosses the river and pulls up by the side of the depot without 
bending from its general direction across the State (southwest), the greater pai't 
of the city being east of the depot. On an eminence west of the road there are 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 2 9 

some very fine residences, one or two of which belong to United States Sena- 
tors ; and on the opposite side of the road, south, on another eminence, stands 
the State prison, but whether there is anything suggestive about Senators resid- 
ing so close to the penitentiary we leave to be determined by those who know. 
Just now we are hungry and will go into the dining-room for something to eat. 

PAPER IV. 

Having dined most of the time since leaving St. Louis with Duke Humphrey,, 
the dinner at Little Rock was seasoned with the best of an appetite. The grand 
reception of the Editorial Excursion at Little Rock had taken place the night 
before, and the party had gone to Malvern in the' night, and were now on their 
way to Hot Springs. We therefore had nothing to do but to follow with a hope, 
if we should be saved from hot boxes, of overtaking them in time for the Hot 
Springs reception at night. The distance to Malvern from Little Rock is 43 
miles, and the run was made without the happening of any incident of interest. 
For some distance out of Little Rock we passed through pine forests, then com- 
ing to a flatter scope of country, the oak predominated. Professor Ware, of 
Mines, Metals and Arts, St. Louis, says that the low country which we crossed 
for 160 miles before we arrived at Little Rock, and the vallej- toward wiiich we are 
now traveling were, during the tertiary period, estuaries of the ocean, and that 
the elevation upon which Little Rock stands was an outlying mud-bar. 

Malvern is a raiboad station of the meanest dimensions, and one that would 
never be noticed only from the fact that it is at this point that the railroad inter- 
sects the El Paso Stage line, and passengers for the Hot Springs leave the railroad 
and take the stage. From Malvern to the Springs is a distance of 26 miles, and 
remarkable for hills and roughness. Messrs. Jackson, Newmyer, Brooke and 
the writer took seats in a stage to which was attached a pair of large mules, said 
to be the fastest team on the road ; while Mr. Coates and Mr. Jones found seats 
in a similar stage, to which was hitched a pair of horses. 

Leaving Malvern we plunged into a dense forest, flat and swampy. This 
extended but a short distance until we commenced the exciting pastime of 
going up one hill and down another, and this continued for the remainder of 
the journey. These hills are covered with a luxuriant growth of timber, the 
yellow pine predominating, while the oak is next in importance. The soil is of 
a red color, and Mr. Jackson observing this, facetiously remarked that with a 
little manuring it would probably make brick. To us, who have been accus- 
tomed to the black soil of Indiana and Illinois, it does not look as if it would 
produce respectable dog-fennel, but the truth is far otherwise. Where it was in 
cultivation the crops were fair. The most of that 26 miles travel was through 
forests, deep and mid, and the journey was enlivened by the sight of scarcely 
a bird ; not a squirrel or other animal showed itself, except now and then a hog. 
We do not know whether these hogs were ferce naturoi or whether they belonged 
to some one. At any rate they are a remarkable breed of hogs. They are 
chiefly valuable for "souse," being mostly head, ears,*feet and tail. Like a 



220 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

locomotive, they seem to be reversible. The ears grow in the middle of the 
hog — all in front is head, all behind, tail. If the ears are turned in one direc- 
tion, the motion of the animal is forward ; if in the opposite direction, the 
motion is reversed. 

The habitations that we passed on the road were few and far between, the 
Mouses were of the log-cabin variety, with doors made of clap-boards and hung 
on wooden hinges, and it was remarked that none of them had glass windows. 
After some remarks about this peculiarit}^, Jackson wanted to bet that we would 
not find a house with a glass window in it until we should arrive at the Springs. 
We took the bet, and after having traveled more than 20 miles and not finding a 
pane of glass, Jackson became jubilant over his prospect of winning ; but 
finally we came to a splendid fai-m on a creek bottom, and the proprietor had 
been reckless enough in his expenditures to put two glass windows in the front [ 
part of his house. Jackson was beaten and the rest of the party yelled. 

At a place called Lawrence — it consisted of a stable and a log cabin — 14 miles 
from Malvern, we changed mules, and read on a board which was naUed to a , 
ti'ee that Shanghai Towa was a mile and a half beyond. We did jiot see it. 
Some time in the afternoon we passed a country school-house, the only one we 
saw on the entire excursion. It was a log shanty, standing on a hill-side near 
a spring, with a pine forest in the rear and a cotton-field in front. In style of 
architecture it resembled the structures which were built for a similar purpose in 
this country 40 years ago, the only difference being that the severity of the 
winters here compelled the people to make their houses better than they need 
make them in the Avarm climate of Arkansas. The house was covered with 
" fo'-foot boads," fastened on by weight poles. The chimney had been one of 
the old-time mud chimneys, but it had toppled over and lay in an unseemly 
mass at the end of the cabin. The door was also made of "fo'-foot boads." 
It opened on the outside, and was hung on wooden hinges. There was neither 
daubing nor chinking in the cracks, and the house was without a window of any 
kind. The door stood open, and passing we could see the teacher busying 
himself with a half-dozen urchins. We stopped to drink at the spring, and 
wanted to go up and visit the school, because we thought it probable that some 
future President of the United States might be " shooting ideas " there, but 
the driver said we had no time, and we hurried away, thinking of the old school- 
house in the woods, and "the spring that bubbled 'neath the hill," at which a 
part of our younger days were spent. 

As we went careening up and down the hills we congratulated ourselves that 
we had at last got away from hot boxes. Vain delusion ! A number of little 
screeches came up from below, and some one remarked that the " buss was 
cussin' the driver." Presently a blue smoke issued from the hub, and then we 
knew that we had it — a hot box on the El Paso stage line ! We had to stop and 
carry water to cool the axle, and go to a neighboring saw-mill for some grease 
before we could proceed. The sun went down, and the sombre hues of night 
spread over the landscape before our journey was ended. At last, almost 
exhausted, we received the welcome intelligence that we had reached the Springs 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 221 

— spnngs whose healing waters once occupied a prominent place in the Utopian 
dreams of De Soto and Ponce de Leon, and now attract the afflicted from all 
parts of the world, as did the pool of Bethesda of old, to come and bathe in 
their thermal waters. 

Covered with dust, tired and hungry, we arrived at the Arlington House at 
nine o'clock, having at last overtaken the excursionists. This is the best hotel 
in the place, and is said to be the best in the State. The supper was already 
over and the dining-room was being cleared of tables for the grand reception 
and ball that were to be held there that night, and the attention of the waiters 
being so taken up with these preparations that it was with some difficulty that 
we could get anything to eat. 

We made the acquaintance of a topographical engineer, whose name is now 
forgotten, who gave much interesting information in regard to the springs. 
There is trouble in regard to the title of the land on which the springs and the. 
town are situated^ it being claimed by certain parties and also by the Govern- 
ment. Many long and hotly contested suits have grown out of this trouble, but 
they have all been decided against the claimants by thie Federal courts. The fulL 
details of the matter we have forgotten, but the main facts are about these : 
After the New Madrid earthquake the sufferers were granted land warrants 
which they might lay upon any Government lands in the State. They were laid 
upon lands around the springs. The Government then set off a reservation of 
four miles square which was intended to be the land containing the springs and 
land adjacent. Some of the records were destroyed and the New Madrid suffer- 
ers claimed that thej' had already taken the springs. The courts having decided 
against these claimants, an appeal is now to be made to Congress, and the topo- 
graphical engineer is making an accurate survey and map of the whole reserva- 
tion to lay before Congress at its next session. These claimants are receiving 
from $300 to $400 a day for ground rents, they claiming the ground upon which 
the whole town stands, the proprietors of the buildings having leased of them. 

The reception was a grand affair, all the elite of the town and surrounding 
country being there. The address of welcome was made by Col. Harrell, and 
was a cluster of gems of eloquence, all sparkling with wit and humor. The 
response was made by Col. Peirce, and was appropriate to the occasion. After 
a few other formalities the band played and the gay party ' ' tripped the light, 
fantastic" until the "we' sma' hours." 

PAPER v. 

Seven o'clock on the following morning was the hour fixed for our departure 
from the Hot Springs, and at early dawn we were up climbing hills and rocks in 
order to get as good a view of the place and as much information in regard to 
it as possible before leaving. The town of Hot Springs is situated in a valley 
between two spurs of the Ozark Mountains. This valley is 600 feet above tide- 
water, and the mountains that hem it in, which are covered with dense forests 
of pine, oak and cedar, are about 400 feet higher. From the head of the 
valley there runs down through it a beautifnl raonntain stream, which empties. 



.222 THE NEW- ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

into an affluent of the Ouachita river a short distance below the town. Tli'e 
valley is so narrow that there is room for but a single street in the town, the 
buildings being backed against the hill on each side. This valley runs north||i 
and south, and when the sun rose over the eastern hill-tops, painting the foliage; 
of the trees in the gorgeous dyes from nature's own alembic, and showing the 
jagged peaks and rugged rock standing like sentinels around the beautiful town 
just awakening from a night's repose in the vale below, the scene was one to 
charm the beholder who appreciates the picturesque, the beautiful or the sub- 
lime in nature. The town contains about 4,000 inhabitants and bears many 
evidences of thrift and prosperity. A street railroad runs through the single 
street, a distance of more than two miles ; the stores have a bustling air of busi- 
ness about them, and the town supports two daily papers. The water issues 
from the springs far up the hill-sides, there being 74 springs in aU. Those on 
the east side discharge hot water, while from those on the west it is cold. The 
volume of water issuing from these springs is immense, it having been estimated 
that they discharge 334 gallons per minute. These springs are doubtless the 
result of volcanic forces which have been active in the pre-historic times, while 
the large travertin deposits, which have themselves slowly accumulated for 
thousands of years, speak of a time far antecedent to these volcanic actions. 

In order to get anything like a correct idea of the cause of hot springs, it is 
necessary to know something of the La Place theory of the formation of the 
earth — a theory that is now held by almost all scientists. It is, in brief, that the 
solar system was evolved from nebulae — ' ' star dust, ' ' heated so hot that it 
.floated through space as a vapor. This, radiating its heat, formed itself, bj?" the 
laws of nature, into globes, and as the heat would be radiated from the surface 
much more rapidly than from the center, a crust would be formed on the surface 
of these globes while the inteiior would remain a molten mass. This is now the 
condition of our globe, the crust being only 50 miles thick — a great deal thinner, 
in proportion to the size, than the thin film coating the inside of an egg-shell. 
By this theory the elevations and subsidences, the faults, the dip of strata, the 
changing of ocean beds, volcanoes, earthquakes and hot springs can be easily 
accounted for. As to hot springs: Suppose this interior molten sea should 
surge against the crust with great force at a given point. If the force was suffi- 
cient there would be a great upheaval, the formation of a mountain, perhaps. 
The strata composing the crust at that point would be fractured in many direc- 
tions. Suppose that some distance beneath the surface there should be made a 
great cavity from which these fractures or fissures lead off in every direction. 
Those running upward, but not opening on the surface, would very naturally 
become veins through which water from above would find its way to the cavity ; 
wlfile those running down from the cavity, if they should reach far enough, 
would be escapes through which heated gases and steam from below would be 
forced up through the water in this underground reservoir. Its temperature 
would be raised to ebullition, and, if there should be a fissure leading up from 
this canity to the surface, the water would be forced out through it and appear 
on the sui'face as a hot spring. 



INDIANA COr.KKSPONDENCE. 223 

The Hot Springs of Arkansas have a world-wide reputation for their curative 
properties. The Ozark Mountains divide the State into two equal parts — this 
division extending to the climate as well as to the soil. On the north side grows 
the vegetation of the Northern States, while the southern side has the semi- 
tropical climate of Mississippi. The bath-houses furnish every facility for the 
accommodation of invahds, who flock there in great numbers. Each room 
receives its supply of water directly from the reservoir, so that no two persons 
bathe in the same water. When an invahd arrives the first thing to be done is 
to consult a physician, who prescribes the kind of treatment. The usual method 
is to give a course of 21 baths (why it should be just 21 we did not learn), 
when, if a cure is not effected, another course is taken. The following very 
curious statement is extracted from a pamphlet which we picked up : 

" Of the many patients or invalids who resort to these waters, about 75 per- 
cent, are afflicted with complaints of a mercurial syphilitic character ; the other 
25 per cent is made up of rheumatism, paralysis and general debility. Of the 
first class all can count on a perfect cure in from one to three courses of baths ; 
of the latter about half are cured, taking a longer time. Some confirmed cases 
have been cured after being there different seasons." 

Breakfast being over, the old rusty, dusty and battered stages drove up in 
front of the hotel, and " all aboard " was sounded up stairs and down, in the 
office, the dining-room, the halls, and everywhere. After much hurrying and 
bustling the passengers were all packed in the stages, and the long caravan 
moved out of town under the command of a "train boss." Some of the 
party amused themselves singing, spinning yarns, and discussing the currency 
question, while others occasionally left the stage to clamber over the hills along 
the road-side to gather persimmons or muscadines — ^a wild grape — which were 
found in great abundance, while others still (these had been up late the nio-ht 
before) moved on in stoical silence. 

The stages, being heavily loaded, progressed but slowly, and a sort of ennui 
was settUng down upon the whffle party, when a little incident occurred which 
at least served to relieve the monotony. Going down a long hill a lock on 
one of the stages broke, and the vehicle pitched forward on the horses. They 
were unable to hold it back, and the only thing left for them to do, as they 
viewed the matter, was to get out of the way by running. Several heavy stages 
were in front of them, and stumps, trees and fences on either side. They tried 
to "telescope " the stage in front of them, but failing in this, they turned to 
one side and ran into the fence. Smash! A pile of rails, stage tipped up on 
one side, one or two passengers sprawling in the dust, a horse lying in the 
midst of all with a leg broke entirely off and a terrible gash in his side, was the 
result. A ball from a navy revolver crashed through the wounded horse's 
brain, and he ceased to breathe. 

There is a narrow-gauge railroad being built from Malvern to the Hot Springs, 
and instead of going all the way to Malvern by stage, we were to go to the 
railroad, eight or ten miles from Malvern, and go in on "flats." This road 
was a great curiosity to many of the party, who had never seen a narrow-gauge 



224 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

before, and it will, wlien complete, be a great convenience to the travelers to 
the Springs. The main party of the excursionists had gone out on this road 
the day before, and were ndet at its terminus by a large delegation of citizens 
from the Springs and vicinity. In front of this delegation was carried a pole 
upon which was fastened a large bundle of cotton-plants, the pods blooming in 
their snowy whiteness, and above it was a crown, showing that they still think 
" cotton is king." 

The party was delayed some time in getting started from the Springs in the 
morning, and still further delayed by the runaway, and on arriving at Malvern 
two or three hours later than was anticipated, found that they must be still 
further delayed to wait for a train from the south. 

PAPER VI. 

Having to wait for the late train from the south, we were delayed between 
two and three hours. Our next point of destination was Arkadelphia, the 
county seat of Clark county, a distance of 22 miles from Malvern. The land 
from Malvern to this town is generally level and very fertile, the prevailing type 
of timber being oak on the low lands and yellow pine on the hills. Arkadelphia 
is a town of 2,000 or 3,000 inhabitants, and quite a business place, has excel- 
lent citizens residing in it, and is surrounded by a good country. When we 
arrived at the depot it was half-past four o'clock, and although we had been 
expected there several hours earlier, a lai-ge crowd met us at the train to escort 
us to a beautiful grove adjoining the town, where a sumptuous, old-fashioned 
barbecue had been prepared as a reception for the excursionists ; and as we had 
had nothing to eat since our hurried breakfast at the Hot Springs, it is easy to 
imagine how the beef and venison would disappear, as did the village of New 
Madrid in the earthquake times. 

After being satisfied of the excellence of the barbecued meats, the party 
returned to the train and made a run of four miles further south to look at some 
of the celebrated Ouachita cotton-fields. "We had expected to go to Texarkana, 
Texas, where a reception had been prepared for the party that night, but the 
annoying delays of the morning had now made it impossible to reach Texarkana 
in time, and it was decided to look at the. fields in the bottom until dark, and 
then return to Arkadelphia for a little speech-making. 

The cotton does not grow so luxuriantly anywhere else on the route passed 
over by the excursionists as in this fertile valley, and the citizens of Clark 
county insist that they have the best cotton county in the world. The train 
stopped by the side of a large cotton-field, and the excursionists poured into it 
like a hive of bees into a buckwheat patch. We interviewed a man in regard to 
the raising of cotton, and obtained much interesting Information in regard to it, 
but as we desh-e to refer to this matter again it is passed by now. 

Some of the party remained in these fields, while the others went on board the 
train to go further down to look at some other plantations. It was soon too 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 225 

dark to see much, and it was decided to return. While the train was doing 
some switching some of the party improvised a plantation "break-down" with 
a party of darkies that we found" fiddling and singing around a fire in a field. 
At half-past seven we were back at Arkadelphia, and proceeded to the Reames 
House, where speeches of welcome were made and toasts proposed and res- 
ponded to in an eloquent manner. 

The people of Arkadelphia certainly deserve great credit for the cordial wel- 
come they gave the party, and they will long occupy a warm place in the hearts 
of the excursionists. 

After the ceremonies . of the evening were over we went to the train, and 
tucked ourselves away in our little beds, and when day dawned the next morn- 
ing we awakened at the depot at Little Rock. 

There was a man in the party whose "best holt" was writing resolutions. 
They seemed to come from him as a sort of natural production, as honey-comb 
does from a bee, or webs from a spider. If the party was all thi'own together 
for two minutes at any one time, he would step to the front with a manuscript in 
his hand, take off his hat, flourish his cane in the air as a token for silence, and- 
announce his intention to read a resolution. Of course he was from Chicago. 
About sumise on Saturday morning, and just as the party were all out on 
the depot platform at Little Rock, this man of interminable resolutions came 
forward with some more, which were adopted by the party. [Resolutions 
previously published.] 

PAPER VII. 

After the passage of these resolutions we went up into the dining-room of the 
Depot Hotel to get breakfast. The managers of that hotel had certainly never 
seen a lot of hungry editors before, and knew nothing of what it would take to 
feed them, or knowing, cared nothing. We took a seat at a table near the 
entrance, and after waiting patiently for something like half an hour to be waited 
on, we called to a molasses-colored individual who occasionally came near the 
table, shying around it in actions very much like a humming-bird approaching a 
dainty flower. He had a round face, a pug nose, curly hair, and his eyes were 
fixed on vacancy with a look that was eminently ethereal. He did not seem to 
belong to the world, and rarely deigned to notice anything that did. He would 
have made an excellent ghost, but he was certainly a very poor waiter. At 
length he deviated from his course to come aUttle nearer to us. We told him 
that we wanted something to eat. He moved slowly away as if treading upon 
air, the while balancing a platter upon his thumb and two fingers. After another 
long wait we saw him again as slowly moving toward us, balancing the platter as 
before, it now containing one small biscuit. This he gave to some one before 
reaching our table, and the spiritual waiter again slowly disappeared with his 
platter. Another long wait and he again made his appearance with his platter 
as before, it containing a small piece df liver which was likewise given to a man 
at another table. We called him again and told him more emphatically than 
before that we wanted coflee. With countenance unmoved, with eyes fixed on 
15 



226 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

vacancy, platter balancing on thumb and fingers, and that subhme, spiritual look, 
he moved as slowly awa}^ as moves a funeral procession. After a while he 
appeared again, platter as before, containing a'si-ngle cup half full of coffee, and 
this was given to some one half way down the aisle. We were now getting des- 
perate. We yelled at him. He slowly moved toward us. We told him in the 
most emphatic language that we could command that we wanted something to 
eat immediately. Without seeming to notice us, he moved away with his plat- 
ter as before, and after a long time again came back, this time with a potato 
which he let some one have before he reached our table. We had now grown 
desperate and could have seen his thumbs pinched flat in the crack of a door 
without the least sorrow for him. It was now plain that if we got anything to 
eat we must go and get it. We went down into the kitchen and got a cup of 
coffee and gave another waiter an order for a piece of steak. We returned — and 
waited — and drank' the coffee — and waited — and still no steak ! We returned to 
the kitchen but could find no steak. A small piece of liver with a couple of 
crackers was all we could find, and, like the Irishman who worked his passage 
on a canal-boat by leading the horse on the tow-path, we came to the conclusion 
that if it were not for the name of having breakfast we would about as soon do 
without as to try to work one out of that hotel. 

As soon as breakfast was over the party boarded the train to cross the river. 
Some were going east over the Little Rock & Memphis road, and some west 
over the Little Rock & Fort Smith road. We took Greeley's advice and went 
west. The day was perfectly delightful. Not a cloud was in the sky, but the 
warm air shrouded the landscape in a mellow, silvery haze. The day's travel 
extended up the Arkansas river, as far as the road is completed— about 125 
miles — running most of the way near the river. The bottom through which we 
passed is remarkable for its fertility. Just above Little Rock a field was pointed 
out to us that had been in continuous cultivation for 45 years, bearing either 
corn or cotton every year. At the time we passed it there was standing on it a 
crop of corn that would yield 50 bushels to the acre. 

Soon after leaving Little Rock a gentleman with a darker skin, but he was a 
whiter man, than the spiritual waiter at the hotel, came through the cars and 
' announced free lunch in the front coach. This suited us. We did not stand on 
the order of going, but went at once ; it then seemed to us that no hungr}' 
mortal ever lunched. with a better relish. In the first place, the provisions 
provided for that occasion were excellent in themselves, and then our appetites 
were sharpened by long fasting and being tantalized by trying to get breakfast 
in the morning, in a way that would have been excruciaing even to old Tantalus 
himself.. 

At Lewisburg the citizens had prepared a splendid reception for the party. 
Eve:*'ybody had come to town to see the excursionists as people here would 
come on the visit of a circus. A salute was fired from anvils on the green, 
while W. B. Gipson, the wild Irishman, unfurled a gorgeous banner and 
explained that they had used the an^^lls because the artillery broke down on the 
way. Mr. Gipson seemed to be one of the mo\'ing spirits of the place, energetic 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 227 

and fully up to the times, and alive to the wants of Arkansas. The banner 
which he had prepared was unique in design. Upon it was a shield with the 
stars and stripes — emblem of the United States — and also a harp wreathed in 
the shamrock of the Emerald Isle ; these were joined together with a wreath of 
flowers, and over all were the Celtic words, Gaed Mille Failte — ten thousand 
. welcomes. The speech of welcome was made by Rev. W. C. Stout, an Episco- 
pal minister of the town. The people here had determined to show the party 
some of the products of the soil, and as we walked around it seemed as if we 
were at a county fair. Samples of Avheat, corn, apples, grapes, peaches, 
potatoes, cotton, and indeed almost all the products or agriculture and horticul- 
ture, were on exhibition, and a splendid exhibition it was. We have never seen 
a better collection of apples than that at Lewisburg. The cotton stalks were 
immense. Among the many things exhibited here nothing attracted more atten- 
tion than the " big cucumber. " This immense vegetable in appearance resem- 
bled a large, long watermelon ; it was 38 inches long, and weighed 64 pounds ; 
they called it a tonqua cucumber. 

In the party was a gentleman from Indiana, the editor of a Republican paper 
in the eastern part of the State. He was an admirer of Morton, and nothing 
delighted him so much as to see the old ' ' War GoA^ernor wave his bloody 
shirt." Partisanism could be seen nestling in his grizzly whiskers, and the 
very wrinkles in his face seemed to arrange themselves for problems of " addi- 
tion and division." He was sniffing the air to find a ku-klux story to detail to 
his readers. There were three or four colored gentlemen standing in a little 
squad at the end of the depot ; he approached and engaged in a conversation 
with them, with something like the following result : 

Indiana Editor — "How are you fellows getting along down here?" 

Colored Gentleman — "Oh, fustrate." 

I. E. — " Do you have any trouble with the white people? " 

C. G.— "No, sah." 

I. E. — "No trouble, then, between the colored people and the whites?" 

C. G. — "No, sah, not been any for a long time." 

I. E. — "Do you men feel perfectly safe here; don't the white men maltreat 
you sometimes, beat you, threaten to inflict injuries on you and your famihes, 
and sometimes kill a colored man ? " 

C. G. — "No, sah, we's all right." 

I. E. — -"Now, look here (speaking very confidentially), I am a Republican, 
the editor of a Republican newspaper, and we in the North often hear of trouble 
here, and of injuries done the colored people. Now if there is anj'-thing of the 
kind we want to know just what it is, and you can tell me of it in perfect confi- 
dence." 

C. G. — "No, sah, nofin like dat heah." 

I. E. — "Yourhves and property are perfectly secure?" 

C..G.— "Yes, sah." 

The Indiana editor heaved a heavy sigh and turned away with a look of deep 
disappointment. 



228 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

But our stay at Lewisburg could not be long, and we hastened on past hiil 
and dale, across streams, by forests and fields. Presently a beautiful view of a 
spur of the Ozark Mountains presented itself, and passing this we came to 
Russellville, the county seat of Pope county. This is a very beautiful town of 
about 1,000 inhabitants, situated two or three miles from the Arkansas river, 
and 75 miles from Little Rock. Away to the southwest, at a distance of 20 
miles, the Magazine Mountains showed their gray peaks, whUe the Dardanelle 
Rock rose abruptly in the air. This was one of the nicest and most thriving 
towns that the party passed in the State. Near it are good coal mines, 
producing a non-resinous antkracite coal, and at a distance of 12 miles from- 
the town there are iron mines, which had formerly been worked. There are 
also mineral springs in this vicinity, both sulphur and chalybeate. The town 
contains four churches and two school-buildings, keeping school from six to 
nine months a year. 

Proceeding from Russellville we soon came in sight of the riv^er, along whose 
banks the road runs for several miles, presenting some splendid scenery. The 
general character of the rock all along the whole day's travel was a ferruginous 
sandstone, the strata ha\dng a dip to the south of from 30 to 45 degrees. A 
very noticeable feature of all the country traveled over in Arkansas was that the 
rocks are all angular and rough, there being no such thing as smooth pebbles 
there, owing to the fact that the northern drift did not extend so far to the 
south. 

Crossing Spadra Creek, Clarksville was reached, the largest town on this road. 
We left the train and went to look at the town and some of its mills. The most 
extensive of these was that of A. Miller & Co. , this being a grist mill, carding 
machine and cotton mill all under the same roof. All these except the cotton 
mill were famiUar to us, and we accordingly gave that our attention. But of 
the cotton mill further on. From Clarksville we proceeded to the western 
terminus of the road. Before reaching the terminus some of our party stopped 
to look at some coal mines, where they remained until the train returned. Here 
some of our party left us to go on to Fort Smith, a distance of 48 miles. At 
half-past three o'clock in the afternoon the train was reversed, 125 miles from 
Little Rock, and homeward bound. Nothing of interest occurred on the return 
trip except that we were treated to an elegant supper at Russellville. We 
arrived at Little Rock about 10 o'clock to find that the Memphis party had not 
yet arrived — being delayed by a hot box 

PAPER VIII. 

Our account of the excursion would be incomplete without some notice of the 
"King of the South," cotton, and having seen it growing all over Arkansas, 
obtained some information in regard to its cultivation from the planters and 
laborers in the Ouachita valley, and seen some of the machinery employed in its 
manufacture in operation at Clarksville, we will give it a short notice. 

Cotton is a plant of extensive cultivation in many parts of the globe within 
the 35th parallels of latitude. It belongs to the same species of plants as the 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 229 

hollyhock and bears considerable resemblance to it in general appearance. This 
plant bears a three-fifth celled pod, which contains the seed of the plant and the 
fiber from which cotton goods are manufactured. When these pods ripen and 
burst open the fiber issues elastically, generally perfectly white, so that the plant 
when seen at a distance has much resemblance to a snow-ball bush in full bloom. 
Botanists have made many curious speculations as to the number of species of 
this plant, but those who desire to follow these speculations are referred to the 
text-books on that subject. The planters do not trouble themselves about 
botanical classifications ; it is sufficient for their purpose if they know the names 
by which the varieties are known in the markets, and will talk about long staple 
and short staple, basing their classification upon the length of the wool and con- 
sequently the price it will bring in the market. Of the long staple the "Sea 
Island " is a variety which is grown exclusively upon the islands and along the 
coast, the sahne ingredients of the soil and atmosphere being indispensable to 
its growth. This variety is raised extensively along the coasts of South Caro- 
lina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, but the further it grows 
from the coast the shorter the wool becomes, the seeds increasing in size until 
far inland they become covered with only short hair. 

The cotton plant is a very delicate organism, and requires a peculiar soil and 
climate for its due development. Although the plant is not, strictly speaking, an 
annual, it is found more profitable to destix)y the shrubs and sow new plants 
every year. The land is prepared during the winter months by first thoroughly 
plowing it, and as soon as frost has disappeared throwing it up in ridges. The 
seed is sown in these ridges in holes from 12 to 18 inches apart. The sowing 
commences in March and generally oontinues through April, and in late springs 
to May. The young shoots appear above ground in five or six days, when the 
fields ai-e weeded and the plants thinned out until there are but two or three in- a 
hole. Later on, these are topped a few inches in order to promote the growth 
of boles. Blooming takes place about the beginning of June. Cotton is a dry- 
weather plant and only requires enough rain to keep the soil slightly moist. 
From the date of blooming to the close of the picking season, warm, dr}^ weather 
is essential. Picldng generally commences in August, and continues until the 
first frost — about the last of October or first of November. All the available 
hands of the plantation, young and old, are employed during the picldng season. 
The cotton is gathered into baskets or bags suspended from the shoulders of 
pickers, and usually piled together in rail pens in the fields until the picking is 
done, when it is spread out to dry and then separated from the seeds. The 
laborer we talked with in the fields told us that ' ' befo' the wah' ' the business 
of cotton-raising ivas done chiefly by planters who owned large tracts of land 
and many slaves, but that since the "late unpleasantness" the land was 
divided up and the cultivation of cotton was carried on in a similar manner to 
that of corn in this State. In answer to our question as to how much one hand 
could tend, he said that one man could cultivate ten acres in cotton and five in 
corn. We told him we were only asking about the cotton, and asked why he 
included corn. He replied that now almost every one raised enough corn to do 



230 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

( 

him for home consumption. The average crop of cotton is about a bale to the 
acre, and the priqe ranges from $40 to $60 per bale. 

The oldest cotton-producing country that we have any account of is India, 
in which the plant has been grown and manufactured ev-er since the beginning 
of the historic period, and it may be for centuries before. Early mention is 
also made of it in the annals of Egypt, and it is believed to have a high antiq- 
uity in all parts of Africa. In the western world it was found by Columbus, 
but was not so extensively cultivated as in the East, though during the past half 
century the culture here has outstripped, both in quantity and qualit}^, the 
product of the Old World. Down to the commencement of the present century 
the cotton consumers of Europe were dependent upon the East and West Indies 
for their raw material, but the inventive genius, superior farming, and greater 
energy of the planters of oiu* Southern States has almost secured the monopoly 
of the world. 

Separating the cotton from the seed was formerly done by the slow and 
tedious operation of picking it by hand, a tedious process, by which one hand 
could only clean a pound or so a day. In 1793 the saw-gin was invented by 
Eli Whitney, since which the process of cleaning has been both rapid and 
effectual. This machine, as we saw it in operation at Clarks^^ille, was not in 
general appearance very unhke the old ' ' ground-hog ' ' threshers that we 
formerly had in this country. It has a hopper similar to the thresher, a pulley 
on the end of the shaft at the side like the thresher, but instead of the cylinder 
with big teeth on the inside, the shaft is filled with circular saws, set about an 
inch apart. These saws are about a foot in diameter, and the teeth are very 
fine. One side of the hopper is composed of metal, with slots made in it, iu 
which these saws run so that a small segment of the saw shows in the hopper. 
The slots are so small that a cotton- seed cannot pass through them, and when 
the saws are put in rapid motion then* teeth jerk the fibre through, and it is 
swept off of them by a cylinder which is covered with bristles like a shoe-brush, 
revolving in the opposite direction from the saws, but more rapidly. 

Prior to the mechanical inventions of Hargreaves, Arkwright, Crompton and 
Cartwright, the arts of spinning and weaving were carried on by hand. By 
means of the ancient distaff and spindle, or more recently the spinning-wheel, 
only one thread at a time was produced, and the slow and tedious process was 
not very remunerative. By this method the yarn was also inferior, for whilst a 
tolerable thread could be spun from flax by this method, the product of the 
cotton was weak and uneven. This state of things had long occupied the 
attention of the thinldng portion of the spinners, but without any practical 
result until the invention of the "jenny" by Hargreaves, in 1767. By that 
machine eight threads could be spun at once. Hargreaves was much abused 
by the iDeople of his native town, who feared that the invention would deprive 
them of employment. They destro3^ed the machine and drove the inventor 
from his home. He succeeded in obtaining a patent on it in 1770. It was 
about this time that Arkwright patented his "throstle," a method of spinning 
by rollers, by means of which a stronger and much finer yarn was produced. 



INDIAN! COKRESPONDENOK. 231 

It was also about this time that cloth was first produced made entirely from 
cotton. A few years later Crompton produced the "mule jenny," a piece of 
mechanism combining both the former, but it had an advantage over both, 
producing better yarn than either. The "mule" came into general use in 
about 1780 — the period assigned as the birth of the muslin trade. The power- 
loom was invented by Dr. Cartwright in 1785. The first "mule jenny" con- 
tained 30 spindles, which, instead of being stationary, as in the "jenny" and 
"throstle," were placed on a carriage and moved outward while twisting, to 
give fineness to the thread, and then inward to wind the yarn on the spindles. 
This motion, in the early machines, was produced by an attendant, but now 
they are made self-acting, so that one person may attend two or three " mules," 
the only thing now necessary for the attendant to do being to piece such threads 
as may break. "Mules" are now made with 1,000 to 2,000 spindles, and a 
single thread has been produced by them upwards of 1,000 miles in length, and 
yet weighing less than a pound. The details of weaving, dyeing and printing 
are all interesting branches of cotton manufacture, but we cannot speak of 
them now, having already taken much of our readers' time. 

PAPER IX. 

Returning to Little Rock from our trip up the Arkansas on Saturday, tired and 
worn out, we sought the earliest opportunity of retiring to our bunk in the 
sleeper, and before ten o'clock were in the embrace of old Morpheus. The 
party that went east, as we afterwards learned, did not returii until some time 
in the after-pai-t of the night. When we awakened on Sunday morning our train 
was " skipping out" to the northeast and the land of Arkansas was disappear- 
ing behind us. Arrangements had been made for the party to take breakfast at 
Arcadia, Mo., on that morning. When this arrangement was made, it was 
expected that the party would leave Little Rock at nine o'clock on Saturday 
night, but owing to delays, when breakfast time came on Sunday morning we 
were l.'O miles from Arcadia, and there was no place between at which we 
could get anything to eat. 

Before taking our final leave of Arkansas, we desire to make a few general 
remarks. There has been for a long time — indeed, ever since the settlement of 
the country— a deep-rooted prejudice in the public mind against the State and 
its people. The old man portrayed in the song of the " Arkansas Traveler, " 
sitting fiddling in front of a roofless cabin, is taken as the type of the people of 
the State, and the impression has gone out to the world that they were a set of 
lazy, riotous vagabonds, thriftless idlers. And there has been, in times gone by, 
some foundation for this charge. The thing which surprised the excursionists 
most was the wild, unsettled and undeveloped state of the countiy. Arkansas 
is only 16 years younger than Indiana, j-et she is half a centuiy behind her. 
We passed through miles and miles of country on the excursion where the laud 
was as fertile as the average of this count}^ and j^et there could not be seen a 
sign of habitation. Her forests seem to be almost untouched by the woodsman's 
ax, and wild turkey, deer and bears wander through them undisturbed. As the 



2^2 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

average citizen of Arkansas puts it, "befo' the wah" no one settled " heah" 
but planters from the Southern States who brought with them a large number of 
slaves and took up large tracts of land in the river bottoms. They were not a 
class of men to iiBprove a new country. Their object was to get as much work 
out of the slaves and thereby as much cotton out of their fields and as much 
money out of their cotton as possible. The mildness of the climate did not com- 
pel them to build good houses, consequently a rude log cabin, daubed with mud, 
covered with clapboards, with a mud chimney and a door hung on wooden 
hinges, and without windows, was about the style of the dwelling-houses of even 
the wealthy planters. Tliey neither raised nor manufactured the ordinary articles 
of home consumption, but when the cotton-crop was harvested they put it on a 
boat and took it down the river, generally to New Orleans, where they sold it, 
and loading their boats with corn and bacon, together with such other commodi- 
ties as they needed, they returned to their homes. But the war came and devas- 
tated the State as if the withering blasts of a simoon had swept over it. The 
war was followed by the accursed "reconstruction," more devastating in its 
effects on the growth and development of the country than even the war itself. 
During these long years of turmoil— almost of anarchy — the merchants of the 
State had no credit with wholesale dealers East, and the result is that they have 
been prevented from running in debt and ruin, as many of the merchants of the 
other Southern States have done. The smoke of the war has now been swept away 
and peace and order have been restored ; the people of the State are generally 
out of debt ; the crops are this year all that could be desired, and the people 
seem to be on a royal road to prosperity. They have become reconciled to the 
new order of things ; they have in good faith accepted the situation, and now 
fully recognize their needs. They now know fuU well that the best thing that 
they can get in their country is a " live man' ' from the North, not a carpet- 
bagger seeking the spoils of office, but a genuine farmer or mechanic who will 
go to work earnestly and honestly ; and there is no country in the world that will 
extend a more cordial welcome to such persons than Arkansas ; and, it may be 
added, there are few countries offering so many inducements. 

It would be great ingratitude to close these papers without an expression of 
our sincere thanks to the people of Arkansas for their generous and open- 
handed hospitality, extended to us everywhere we went. The whole route 
through the State was but a continued ovation, and whenever these people make 
up their minds to entertain guests they do not do it in any grudging, half-way 
style. Frank, generous and open-hearted, they are ready to share their last 
piece of bread with a stranger if they think him worthy of their confidence. 
They ar§. a people of positive convictions, and they possess something of that 
.stern virtue of the old Roman character. As illustrating this peculiarity we will 
give an instance. Just before our visit to the Hot Springs there had been an 
elopement and marriage of a young lady of that place. She belonged to one of 
the first families. She had contracted an alliance with a gentleman who did not 
please her parents. The father forbade him coming to his house, and the 
daughter from having anything to do with him. But, as is usual in such cases. 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE . 233 

the daughter run away and married him. In her father's house was kept a 
family tree, with a branch for each member. When the father heard of her 
marriage her branch of the family tree was taken off, everything which she 
owned was sent to her, after which her tombstone, with an appropriate inscrip- 
tion, was placed in the family graveyard, as though she had in fact been dead 
and buried. 

Arkansas was admitted into the Union in 1836. It comprises an area of 
52,198 square miles, and occupies a most advantageous location in the tempe- 
rate zone. The products of it« soil, owing to the geographical position as well 
as to the phj^sical conformation of the country, are similar to those of both 
Northern and Southern States. Within the limits of the State may be found all 
the variation of climate of 10 degrees of latitude. In the northern part of the 
State all the leading staples of the Northern States are produced, while to the 
south the great southern staple grows luxuriantly. We clip the following from 
another writer and adopt it as our own : 

"In passing westward from the eastern border of Arkansas, the surface 
becomes more elevated, rising gradually ; near the centre of the State the 
country becomes rqlling and hilly, while the vast forests are interspersed with 
undulating prairies. The country north of the Arkansas river is a beautiful 
intermixture of hill, plain, prairie and woodland. It is generally very fertile, 
and is rapidly filling up with an enterprising people. It affords a fine stock 
range, the various cereals and fruits are successfully raised, and it is equally 
weU adapted to growing cotton. The country between the Arkansas and 
Ouachita rivers is partly alluvial and partly diluvial in its formation, and of 
great fertility, being composed of broad and fertile bottoms, and ridges and 
hills of no great elevation. The district south of the Ouachita, for a considera- 
ble distance, is divided into a series of ridges and valleys, intersected b}^ 
numerous small streams rising in the mountains to the west. These streams 
afford superior water-power for manufacturing purposes, and the lands are of 
great value for stock-raising and agricultural uses. South of the hill-land is a 
large tract of country extending to the southern boundary of the State, and 
nearly across from east to west, varied in surface and soil, but generally undu- 
lating and interspersed with pine forests. Large portions of these lands are 
exceedingly fertile, particularly the black sandy soil. The alluvial lands on all the 
streams — which embrace a large area of the State — are of the highest fertility'. 
The disposition of the arable land in Arkansas is eminently favorable to its 
development. The great variety of soil, the succession of hiUs and valleys, the 
prevalence of springs, creeks and rivers in every section, are circumstances 
which tend to produce a diffusion of advantages, rendering every district in the 
State desirable for settlement. Arkansas abounds in valuable timber in all sec- 
tions, and the revenues from it are of the first importance, constituting the base 
of great wealth yet to be realized in the improvement of the State. The j^eUow 
pine forests predominate, covering about one-tenth of the area of the State. 
Several varieties of oak abound and attain large proportions. Cabinet woods 
occur in abundance, of which the black walnut, cherry and maple are the most 



234 



THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



valuable. Ari^ansas is beyond a doubt the best watered State in the Union, 
having nearly 3,000 miles of inland navigable waters, so distributed that they 
intersect nearly every portion of the State, and afford steamboat facilities the 
greater part of the year. The climate of Arkansas is mild and salubrious.. 
Sudden changes of temperature are less frequent than in the Eastern States in 
the same latitude, and not to be compared to the country further west, where 
.sudden northers sweep down to the Gulf. The thermometer does not show here 
as high a temperature during the summer months as in the more Northern States, 
and in winter it rarely gets below lOo. Of course, so long a season of warm, 
genial weather must greatly facihtate the labors of the husbandman. PIo wing- 
may be done every month in the year. No country furnishes a greater number 
of days in the year in which out-door work can be performed. Garden crops 
are planted early ; potatoes and peas often in February, and others in March. 
The rains are generally seasonable and propitious ; the winter frosts beino- 
hght, only tend to give a mellowness to the soil it would probably not other- 
wise possess, and are not of sufticient duration to interfere with early and late 
planting. The climate is conducive to good health and longevity. All the 
fruits are sure of luxuriant growth, including as well the different kinds gj-own 
in the Northern States, as those which nearly approach tile tropics. Apples, 
peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, tigs, grapes, strawberries, and other small 
fruits, grow luxuriantly in all parts of the State, and are noted for their size and 
flavor. In this cHmate fruit trees bear early, produce abundantly and ripen their 
fruit in the greatest perfection, and though it may seem incredible to our North- 
ern friends, yet we are informed by all citizens that the fruit crop of Arkansas 
has not been a failure for thirty years. Arkansas, owing to its climate, unfailino* 

water, and wide grass range, possesses superior advantages as a grazing reo-ion 

a branch of industry which has already become an extensive interest. The 
native grasses of Arkansas include 35 varieties and grow luxuriantly. This 
State can, without exaggeration, boast of her mineral deposits, esi>eoiaUy 
when we take into consideration the various kinds, their general rich quality and 
enormous quantity. Here are magnetic, hematite, calcareous, and other vari- 
eties of iron ore ; lead, zinc and coal, manganese and associate metals, together 
with marble, gypsum, salt, kaolin, whet and hone-stone, slate, hmestone, granite, 
marl, paint and nitre earth. The coal-fields of the State embrace an estimated 
area of 12,000 square miles." 

The Constitution of this State provides that the General Assembly shall 
require by law that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability shall 
attend the pubhc school during the period between the ages of five and eio-hteen 
unless educated by other means, and the Legislature has provided a very efficient 
school law, which secures to all the State ample school privileges. The law also 
provides that the white and colored children shall be educated in separate 
schools. Life and property are secure, and. as well protected as in any State of 
the Union. Population is the great want of Arkansas ; almost endless acres of 
productive soil remain yet to be brought under cultivation. Forests and mines, 
the varied products of the temperate or semi-tropical zone, corn and cotton, 



INDIANA CORRESPONDENCE. 235' 

choice fruits, and a rich and never- faiUng harvest of all the rarest gifts of 
nature, allure immigration and invite the hand of industry. 

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, on Sunda}', we reached Arcadia and 
stopped for the breakfast that we had been so long looking for. From this 
point we got a good view of Pilot Khob and the Iron Mountain. After the 
dinner was over Col. Loughborough called the excursionists together to make 
an announcement. He said that the people of Hope, expecting them to make 
that town a visit, had prepared a banquet and a banner for them, but, as the 
party did not go to the town, they had been compelled to take care of the 
refreshments themselves, and had sent the banner to him to present to the 
party. The banner consisted of a piece of ordinary muslin, on which w^as this 
inscription: "Our Nation's Educators are our Friends. We made it out of 
the Weed. Arkansas Manufacturing Co., Royston, Ark." This was said to be 
the first piece of cotton cloth manufactured in the State. The banner was then 
given to Col. Loughborough to be placed on exhibition at the St. Louis Fair. 
The party again entered the cars and were soon steaming on towards St. Louis, 
where we aiTived just at dark. This Arkansas traveler at once proceeded to 
the Union depot, where he arrived just in time to take the Vandalia train for 
Terre Haute, and thence home ready for business early on Monday morning. 

In the series of articles upon the excursion to Arkansas which we now close. 
we ,have aimed to give the reader some information in regard to that State in a 
way that would interest as well as instruct. If further information is desired 
on this subject it can be obtained by addressing either J. M. Loughborough, 
T. B. Mills & Co., or W. D. Slack, all at Little Rock, Arkansas. Should these 
gentlemen ever get up another excursion we hope to make one of the party. 



CHAPTER VIII.-IOWA. 



FROM THE "IOWA STATE JOURNAL," DES MOINES. 



W. A. WEBBER, Correspondent. 




Little Rock, Ark., September 29. 
|E awoke this morning in an Arkansas swamp, or I should say that 
when we awoke our train of PuUman palace cars was running at the 
rate of 24 miles per hour through the swamps of Arkansas, about 200 
miles south of St. Louis. We breakfasted at 8.30 at Walnut Ridge, with a 
good substantial meal, and then interviewed the productions of this part of 
Arkansas. They consisted, as far as we could learn with the time at hand, "of 
one black bear, a good sample of corn and cotton, and a fine growth of white 
oak, walnut, ash, and other kinds of timber. At ten o'clock we were on our 
way southward again, stopping at Newport, 225 miles from St. Louis, and 
found a new village of about 600 inhabitants, who seemed to have a 'good 
deal of stir and push about them. Here also we found the fii-st bales of new 
cotton, 15 or 20 in number. At Judsonia, 229 miles from St. Louis, is located 
the Judson University, under the supervision of its President, the Rev. Benja- 
min Thomas, A. M. We were saluted here by the citizens in fine style, and 
presented with a neat impromptu banner inscribed " Northern Editors, welcome 
to Arkansas. The pen is mightier than the sword." 

At Kensett, a few miles further down the railway, we interviewed the wooden 
railway that extends fom- miles westward to the Searcy Sulphur Springs. Know- 
ing that we were ultimately bound for Hot Springs, we did not urge our train- 
men to. switch off; on the contrary, we were desirous of completing the remaining 
distance to Little Rock, where we arrived at 2.45 to-day. At the Little Rock 
depot we were met by the Little Rock brass band, who discoursed several pieces 
of music in fine style, when the large delegation of citizens took charge of the 
party and entertained each one of the more than a hundred hungry newspaper 
men at their private homes, feasting with a good dinner; afterwards a pleasant 
drive through the city, into its every nook and corner. We are now at the 
banquet (nine o'clock p. m.) at Concordia hall, Little Rock, in honor of the first 



IOWA COERESPONDENCE. 237 

visit of "Northern Editors" to this part of the South. It is a grand affair; 
first, because we have in our excursion party a fair representation of the North- 
western press, and with us a large number of the representative gentlemen and 
ladies of this city and its vicinity, numbering in all more than 250. I note here 
thp,t the hall is set with four tables garlanded vnth the American flag, two 
of them 70 feet long in the form of an X, and two others at either end 20 
feet long, all loaded with viands and victuals. That is a con^dncing proof that 
newspaper men, though they be Northerners, have a goodly and warm welcome 
in this once Southern city. It certainly is a hearty, truthful and honest out- 
pouring of hospitality, that means something more than mere form. These peo- 
ple are in real earnest this time, and have worked themselves up to that point 
wherein they can appreciate our Northern industry, enterprise and schools. I, 
with the rest of all true lowans, am truly thankful that this is the case. 

I should have mentioned in a former letter that the object of this excursion 
is that gentlemen of the Northern press might go and see Arkansas and the 
Southwest for themselves, " the condition of its government and society, and 
the character of its soil and products." The enterprise is led by J. M. 
Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the railway, assisted by Col. T. Essex, 
Assistant Commissioner, and G. W. Hered, Esq., General Traveling Agent, 
together with T. B. Mills & Co., land agents and proprietors of the Spirit of 
Arkansas. These gentlemen accompanied the party, and are happy over the 
success they had at the reception at Little Rock. 

I desire to return my thanks to Gen. Robt. C. Newton and lady, and Coi. 
Robt. Howard, of that city, for their hospitahty and many kind attentions 
shown me. "May they live long and prosper," for they are generous, whole- 
souled people. 

What I think of Arkansas may be summed up in a few words. Her soil is 
excellent, water abundant, minerals inexhaustible, fuel — both of wood and 
coal — in great and sufficient quantities for generations to come, and a people 
so changed, so far advanced in the right direction, that it makes it desirable for 
any Northern man who desires or thinks of emigrating to consider well and 
fully examine the advantages offered here, either by the State, the Iron Moun- 
tain Raikoad, or by T. B. Mills & Co. 

I saw enough of this to-day to cause me to believe this to be true, especially 
in the agricultural department. There were specimens of corn, rye, oats, 
millet, grasses and cotton, such as can be surpassed by no other State in 
the Union, if we except the sea island cotton of the Eastern coast ; melons, 
pumpkins and squashes in abundance, and a Tonqua cucumber that weighed 57 
pounds to quit the field with. 

In our drive over the city to-day we visited the Fair Grounds, United States 
arsenal, the cemeteries, and the spot and house where " Sandy" Faulkner lived, 
the veritable and only truly Arkansas traveler that could travel and at the same 
time play the fiddle. 

12 o'clock M. — We are off for the Hot Springs, Arkansas, where I will tell 
you something more of the Southwest. 



238 



THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



Hot Springs, September 30, 187S. 

Our excursion party through Ai-kansas arrived at Hot Springs at two o'clock 
to-day, after a fifteen-mile stage ride over a hilly, rough and dusty road from the 
western terminus of the Hot Springs narrow-gauge railway. I shall remember 
vividly, as often as I remember my aching bones of to-night, my own personal 
'experience of to-day's trip in an Arkansas lumber wagon. "Mollie Darling," 
an old mule 16 or 17 hands high, that looked more like a hat-rack than an ani- 
mal of locomotion; and "Pete," a mustang pony, about two-thirds the mule's 
size, together with our able driver, who "tought we could drive dat ar team to 
de Hot Springs as quick as any ob dem," and so he did; five of us, of the 
Northwestern press-gang, from as many different States, arrived here on time 
with those who were lucky enough not to have to give way with their better 
team and vehicle — as we did upon the starting from the train — to a party of 
ladies who accompanied us from Malvern. 

My impression of the country over which we have traveled to-day may be 
summed up as follows : We have not travelled over a foot of land that an Iowa 
farmer would for a moment think of cultivating, but we passed by several resi- 
dent natives' abodes, who had and are still trying to hew a livelihood out of the 
soil in this wilderness of timber-land. There is one bright side to this part of 
Arkansas, however, and that is that the land most of this distance is really 
valuable for its timber, the forests in many places being heavy and composed of 
pine, oak, etc., that the approach of these railways will find a market for. Of 
the Hot Springs, wherein the real value of this part of Arkansas exists, the 
stranger cannot do otherwise than express his curiosity and surprise at their 
wonderful existence, and their still more reputed wonderful curative powers. 
More than 50 of the springs burst out of the mountain top and its southeast 
side, with greater or less volume, varying in temperature from 93 to 150 degrees 
Fahrenheit, at an elevation of from 1,300 to 1,400 feet above the level of the 
«ea, and yielding an estimated volume of water of about 482,000 gallons per 
day. They are among those things of earth, however, that must be seen to 
fully appreciate them, and one must bathe in and drink of their "red-hot" 
waters to fully understand them. When the htigation of the title to lands 
hereabouts shall have ended, and this people shall have municipal laws and 
regulations, I doubt not it will become one of the most famous watering-places, 
as well as hospitals, of America, if not of the world. 

Our reception here to-day was another grand ovation, Hon. J. M. Louo-hbor- 
ough and Col. T. B. Mills still being the guiding stars. Our hosts are the 
whole'people of Hot Springs, under the dh-ection of Col. E. W. Rector, Col. J. 
M. Huffman, H. P. Thomas, and other prominent citizens. Strolls through the 
mountain sides, about the springs, and pleasant converse with the people, has 
been the order of the afternoon. I notice that the further south we get the 
closer we are quizzed and questioned as to the state of poHtical affairs North, 
as well as our prosperity or adversity socially, and a general anxiety to find out 
Tvhat we are going to say of Arkansas when we get home. Personally I am 



IOWA COUKESPONDENCE. 239 

satisfied in my own mind that the people — I do not mean her adventurers 
or speculative politicians, or hot-heads — of Ai'kansas have really, truly and 
honestly accepted the situation, and are now desirous only of their own, the 
State's and the American Union's greatest welfare. I know this is a strong- 
doctrine, and did I not see evidences of it from other sources than from 
those in power, I might, on reflection and consultation with my extreme radical- 
ism in politics, be induced to believe differently. I am surprised but thankful 
that I believe I can make these utterances without fear of their being con- 
tradicted in the future. I think, too, that this is the sentiment of our whole 
party, and come to the conclusion that this \S the case more from the heai't- 
iness with which the following resolutions were passed to-night than from the 
resolutions themselves : 

Resolved, That the representatives of the Press of the great Northwest, here 
present, unite with the citizens of Arkansas in tendering our heartfelt thanks to 
the Hon. Thomas Allen, President, to the Hon. James M. Loughborough, Land 
Commissioner, to Col. A. W. Soper, Superintendent, and other officers of the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Sotithern Railway, as well as Messrs. T. B. Mills &. 
Co., land agents, of Little Rock, for the liberal and intelligent spirit of enter- 
prise that inaugurated and conducted the excursion, by which so many represen- 
tative men of the Northwestern Press have been enabled to meet the citizens of 
Arkansas upon their own soil. 

Resolved., That the meeting thus bi'ought about has proven to all concerned 
that there are no more bloody chasms to fill, no more ' ' hatchets to bury, ' ' 
but that we are all citizens of a common country upon the one hand, proud of 
the progress of our sister States ; and upon the other, anxious that Arkansas 
may speedily achieve the wealth and position due her natural advantages. 

Resolved, That the thanks of the representatives of the Press be hereby 
extended to the citizens of Hot Springs and Little Rock for their cordial greet- 
ings and generous hospitality; and for their many acts of kindness we shall 
ever hold them in grateful remembrance. 

I have written this hurriedly, while most of the party are attending a ball 
given at the Ai'lingtou House to-night. You will hear from me at Texarkana 
to-morrow. 

Arkadelphia, October 1, 1875. 

The Northwestern press-gang arrived here at four o'clock this p. m., four 
hours behind time, on account of a runaway of one of our coaches en route from 
Hot Springs to the terminus of the narrow-gauge railway, therefore we aban- 
doned our trip to Texarkana, 60 miles south. Our reception here was a con- 
tinuation of the ovation that we have been presented with ever since we left St. 
• Louis. We partook of an old-fashioned barbecue in a beautiful grove in the 
immediate suburbs of the city, and then ran our train south of the city seven or 
eight miles, among the cotton plantations and corn-fields of a Mr. Strong. Your 
readers will remember that our previous travels through Arkansas were among 
the timber and mineral lands of the State. This, then, being our first visit to 



240 THE NEW" ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

an agricultural district, was a happy relief from scenes that were fast becoming^ 
monotonous, 

Mr. Strong's cotton plantation contains 300 acres. "What is known as the 
September crop — that portion of the stock that blooms in September — is now 
being picked, mostly by colored labor. It was a novel and interesting sight 
to most of our party to witness this process, and it must have been a tiresome 
task to this planter and his "help" to answer the many questions that were 
plied to them during the bi'ief hour we spent in this cotton-field — the ques- 
tions covering all the ground from the time the cotton was planted until it 
was in the bale for Liverpool. I would state right here that here are as fine 
and rich lands as the world afi'ords, as is proved by the crops now growing upon 
them — the cotton yielding one to one and a half bales per acre ; corn, 40 to 
60 bushels per acre ; potatoes, both sweet and Irish, in abundance, with fruits 
of all kinds that can be grown in a semi-tropical climate, the pear and grape 
being especially prolific. 

This is the first year that wheat-growing has been a success in Ai'kansas, and 
the first time in its history that it has raised enough for the wants of its people ; 
and now that they have accomplished it, her farmers ai'e proud of the fact, and 
only await until the wheels of time shall bring another season, when they will 
sow larger than they did this year. Of this product I hear of 20 to 30 bushels 
per acre having been gathered this year. 

As the vail of darkness spread itself over the earth, we reti'aced our steps to 
Arkadelphia, where we listened to thi'ee or four hours of reception speeches and 
their responses. These Arkansawans are orators that have the " hang on" dis- 
ease terribly. They seem to be in the hight of their glory when they orate. 
They never tire, their illustrations are long, oh dear, how long ! some of them 
not pretty, but all of them at this point, as elsewhere, I suppose, are well meant. 
There are exceptions to all general rules, so there was in this case. Ex-Judge 
II. B. Stuart, for 25 years a resident of Arkadelphia, made a twenty-four minute 
extempore oration that was indeed full of good sense and delivered -with, the- 
ability of an orator. It was a speech explanatory of the condition of the South 
— I believe truthfully painted — her wants, her submission to the old flag, and 
a desire that these things be better known in the North. It was a little speech 
that ought to be delivered all over the South as well as all over the North. We 
were glad to hear it, so would others. It would do much good. 

Arkadelphia is situated on the Ouachita river, about 70 miles southwest of 
Little Rock, and is a town of 1200 or 1500 people. It is one of the oldest towns 
of the State, and since the advent of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railway, has taken on new hfe by way of regrading her streets, repairing old 
and erecting new buildings. They yet need to see the necessity of good schools 
— though their present ones are better than the old — as well as a first-class hotel 
or two. 

At 12 o'clock we retrace our travel to Little Rock, and go east to-morrow 
over the Little Rock & Memphis Railway through some of the prairies of the 
State as far as Forrest City. 



IOWA COHRESPONDENCE. 241 



Forrest City Ark., October 2, 1875. 



Here we are, at the end of another day's travel through Arkansas, part of 
us coming over the Little Rock & Memphis Railway to this point, stopping here 
and there on our way, while the remainder of the party went west on the Little 
Rock & Fort Smith Railway. Over this route to-day we have seen what we 
lowans would call real farming lands, viz. : prairie — prairie by the mile or 
acre — fringed with forests of oak, cypress and pine. On this sunshiny day, 
when all nature seemed to add to our pleasure, we certainly enjoyed the trip, 
though we are tired, and pronounce it the best day's ride and through, the best 
agricultural portion of Arkansas that we have seen. 

We left Little Rock at eight o'clock a, m. and made our first stop of a 
few minutes at Lonoke, 23 miles out. 

LONOKE 

is a town of about 900 people, in the midst of a pretty prairie. At 

CARLISLE, 

35 miles out, our party met with a warm and kindly reception — the people here 
haUing us with open hands and hearts, and expressing themselves with hopes 
that our coming to Arkansas was the beginning of a new era in its history. So 
eager were this people that we should see for ourselves the products of this part 
of the State that they had gathered of its productions, and so arranged them 
that, for all practical purposes, one might consider himself at a good-sized State 
Fair. In one building John D. Morrow & Sons, of Prairie county, had on 
exhibition as fine samples of many varieties of apples, pears, peaches and other 
fruits as grow anywhere— one pear weighing two and a half pounds. In this 
building also were exhibited sweet and Irish potatoes of monstrous size, together 
with all kinds of other vegetables, pampas grass ten feet high, beloit grass, wild 
prairie grass, and blue joint grass, with which this county abounds ; samples of 
corn, wheat and oats, that are only excelled by our own Iowa prairies. Capt. 
George A. Davis, a farmer living a few miles south of this town, heard of our 
coming, and gathered up a wagon-load of sample farm products from his planta- 
tion, and was on the ground when we arrived, of which the following is a partial 
synopsis : A large and well-arranged bouquet of beautiful flowers, tied, as a 
welcome, to the front end-gate of the wagon, and then came samples of oats, 
wheat, corn, potatoes, cabbages, cotton, hay, a loaf of bread, a crock of butter, 
etc. It was pronounced by our whole gang as the best single effort we had 
seen. Here also we interviewed some gin — I have reference to a new cotton- 
gin that has jvist been erected here, with machinery of a new pattern, and is 
doing a land-offlce business, making the "fur fly right smart." Here also is 
16 



242 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

made and baled large quantities of hay from the wild prairie grasses, Mr. 
McClintic, formerly from Michigan, informing me that they gather from two to 
three tons per acre. 

This, perhaps, is as good a point as any, considering that the population is 
mixed — there being some people from almost every State in the Union here — to 
judge of public sentiment. Instead of giving you my own, I substitute that of 
" Old Rebel," as I found it in T. B. Mills & Co.'s Spirit of Arkansas, and say 
that unless the "white man is very unsai'tin," I believe it is the true sentiment 
of the people here, though expressed in homely language : 

Washington, August 22, 1875. 

Editor Spint of Arkansas : — Quite a number of your '■'■ Spirits" for August 
came to this county, and every one who has read it and understands, as I 
have been informed, that you send 20,000 copies out of the State, gives you 
great credit for your enterprising and well-directed efforts to bring immi- 
grants to Arkansas. I am an old rebel — an original secessionist — and not 
many years, or even months ago, I might say, I would not have indorsed 
your attempt to bring "Yankees" to Arkansas, nor would a great many other* 
residents of this section; but "a change has come o'er the spirit of our 
dreams," and I honestly believe, yes, I know that a Northern man, regard- 
less of his political opinions, who comes here to live, will be as cordially 
welcomed and as well treated as if he came from " Old Virginia " itself. We 
ar6 thoroughly reconstructed on that question. It is true that the fools are 
not all dead yet, and an occasional fossil of the carboniferous era still exists, 
who don't want any "damned Yankees or foreigners," but such specimens, 
save now and then, will soon disappear ; as it is, they have no influence in 
the community. The people here want more people, and we readily recognize 
and appreciate the good work you are doing. Hempstead county is the 
richest, in lands, in Arkansas, or, for that matter, in the Southwest, and we 
would like to have you give it an extended notice in your paper. Send some 
one down here competent to write it up, and we will show him around, for we 
want, and want badly, more people. Our crops are generally good. 

Yours, Old Rebel. 

From CarUsle we came forward through, stopping a few moments at Praiiie 
Center, and also at Devall's Bluff, on White river. This last town, made 
historic by the late war, presents much the same appearance that it did ten 
years ago, with the exception of the addition of a few new buildings during the 
last year or two. 

Here at Forrest City we were met by a delegation of citizens, escorted to a 
public hall, and endured another hour of reception speeches when we were 
hungry enough to have gone to dinner without them— the speeches. After a 
good, hearty dinner, we drove among the cotton-fields — and here are some 



IOWA CORRESPONDENCE. 243. 

excellent ones, the cotton-plants standing five and six feet high — and througk 
corn-fields and potato-patches, until nearly dark, when our engine whistled " all 
aboard." A few more speeches — parting speeches this time, and one very- 
sensible one from Ex-Governor Hadley — and we are off" for Little Rock again 
and homeward bound. 

So ends the excursion of Northwestern newspaper-men into Arkansas, one of 
the best planned and best conducted enterprises that it has ever been my lot 
to witness. All hoijor to the Hon. J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills, of 
Little Rock. Gentlemen, for the favors you have shown us and the privilege 
you have given us to see Arkansas and the Arkansawyers, you have a warm 
place in our hearts. 



CHAPTER IX -KANSAS. 



FROM THE "TOPEKA COMMONWEALTH." 



N. L. PRENTISS, Editor. 



NUMBER I. 



WKBhE party which left St. Louis on Tuesday night, September 28, 1875, for 
^^^^^ the exploration of Arkansas, consisted of between 80 and 100 persons. 
Most of them were bona fide representatives of newspapers, German, American 
and Bohemian, from the States of Ilhnois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, 
Kansas and Missouri, with one man from Pennsylvania. A majority had never 
visited Arkansas, others had taken a military tour through the country during 
the war and wanted to know "Who's been here since I's been gone," and 
some of the party had never visited any portion of the South, or seen cotton 
growing. The party, as was said, was principally composed of newspaper men, 
though there were several outsiders. Among these were Col. Markle, of St. 
Joseph, Missouri, a large landholder in ditferent parts of the West and South, 
and Judge Shii'kj of Peru, Indiana, who has operated considerably in Kansas 
lands, and is now figuring in Arkansas real estate. There were the usual 
number of queer birds ; one, a tall foreigner with long waving hair and beard, 
who was travehng with a machine for either illustrating or regulating the 
movements of the heavenly bodies, your correspondent does not remember 
which, and who, on the first evening out, explained the movements of his 
instrument, and vouchsafed the information that he had once sat as a model for 
a picture of the Saviour, and after tbat relapsed into silence for the rest of 
the trip. Then there was an English gentleman, born in Dublin, Ireland, a 
true-born Irish Briton, who wore a badge consisting of a harp and crown, 
which he explained was "won by me ansaystors in beetle at Clontarf, and 
has been presarved at the familee risidence at Ballywhackem for more than 
a thousand years." These were extras. Inside the " profesh " were the 
usual varieties of the species editor, including the insufferable representative 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 24$ 

of the "metropolitan press," who gets drunk immediately to show that 
he is a "true Bohemian," and proceeds to inform his fellow-travellers that 
he is commercial and exchange editor on his paper, also that he is general 
manager and dramatic critic, and likewise night editor, foreign correspondent, 
and collater of sporting news. 

OLD KANSAS 

was represented on the trip by Col. Parks, now of Martinsville, Indiana, but 
formerly of Leavenworth, and one of the framers of that much-amended instru- 
ment, the "Wyandotte Constitution." Although the Colonel was heard to 
observe, several times during the trip, that he had seen his " fondest hopes 
decay," and moreover, that he had " lost a dear gazelle," he appeared to be 
in a remarkable state of preservation for all that. Another ex-Kansan was Mr. 
CoUings, who once embarked on the " stormy sea of journalism " at Seneca, 
but who is now paddling in smoother waters in Indiana. 

THE START 

was effected from the Iron Mountain depot "on or about" nine o'clock at 
night. The party were comfortably quartered in Pullman sleepers, and not over- 
crowded, as is usually the case on such occasions. Col. J. M. Loughborough, 
the Land Commissioner of the railroad company, went down with the excur- 
sionists. Col. Loughborough was found to be a Kentuckian born and a Mis- 
sourian "raised" and an Arkansan by residence. His appearance bore cheering 
testimony to the salubrity of the climate of the three States, and the pilgrims 
found him to be, in Arkansas phrase, "an elegant gentleman, sir." Another 
traveling companion was Hon. Logan H. Roots, a representative carpet-bagger, 
born in the depths of lower Egypt in Illinois, educated partly in Bloomington, 
Illinois, and graduating in an Illinois regiment, who settled in Arkansas at the 
close of the war, went into politics, met on the stump Tom Hindman, one of 
the ancient gods of Arkansas ; was elected to Congress twice, and is now Presi- 
dent of a bank in Little Rock. Mr. Roots turned out to be a valuable "guide, 
philosopher and friend," full of information, and, notwithstanding the rantank- 
erous nature of Arkansas politics. Roots seemed to have preserved an invincible 
good- nature. 

IN ARKANSAS. 

The fii-st station reached in Arkansas is Moark. This heathenish-sounding 
name is all right as soon as you discover that it is compounded of Mo. and Ark. , 
the abbreviations, respectively, of Missouri and Arkansas. The ingenuity in the 
name-building is displayed at Arkadelphia and at Texarkana, the latter being 
made up of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, while Ozark is said to be properly 
aux Arcs^ the French abbreviation of aux Arkansas. 

IN THE WOODS. 

The road runs from Mo£irk to Little Rock as straight as a crow flies, all the 
way through the woods ; to the east of the line is a country of rivers and bayous \ 



246 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

to the west a few miles, a region of hills rising finally into the mountains, but 
neither hill nor stream is seen from the road ; it is woods to the left, woods to the 
rfght ; the woods seem to close in behind the flj^ing train and in the dim distance 
to bar its onward course. The forest is not of a striking nature, presenting 
neither the fine majestic blades of the blue grass country in Kentucky and mid- 
dle Tennessee, nor the tangled luxuriance of the river bottoms, but a stubbed, 
rusty, dusty, homely collection of pines and oaks, interspersed with more pines 
and more oaks. The soil underneath the trees looked white and hard, and 
along the road-side, where excavations had been made in building the road, 
the water stood in dull, gray, shallow pools. 

SETTLEMENTS 

occurred at frequent intervals. The stations along the road are all new. The 
iouses, many of them one-story, built of native lumber, and not weather- 
"boarded, look as if they had been put up the day before. There were many 
small stores, and ^he inevitable saloon and drug shops. Some of these places 
are stations for old towns further back in the country, Searcy for instance, 
which is four miles from the road and connected with it by a wooden-railed 
Lorse-railroad. The old towns of Arkansas were generally built along the rivers 
which the Iron Mountain road crosses, leavdng them above or below. Scarcely 
a town on the road had an e:5fistence prior to the building of the road itself. 

AT WALNUT RIDGE 

the excus'sionists ate their first meal in Arkansas, and it was a good one 
and neatly served. After breakfast the party had a reception from a native- 
l)orn Arkansan, a black bear, who was chained to a tree in the yard. ' ' Cross 
as a bear" did not apply to this animal, who, although he had never before 
"been interviewed by a newspaper man, submitted to the operation with great 
good-nature. Bears are not unfrequently found within sound of the railroad 
whistle in Arkansas. 

A BAPTIST MISSION. 

Fifty-three miles from Little Rock was reached Judsonia station, and with it 
the first American flag seen in the State. Judsonia is a Baptist colony, or what 
remains of one. The colony originally settled in Prairie county, but some of 
the colonists became possessed with the idea that prairie land was not as good 
as timber, a superstition that prevailed at one time even in Illinois, and for this 
and other reasons removed to the present location in the timber. Rev. Benja- 
min Thomas, formerly of Illinois, a stirring, enthusiastic kind of man, boarded 
the train at this point. He said that the colony was now a fixed fact, 500 
students having been promised for the approaching term of the school, to begin 
October 11. It is to be hoped that the enterprise is "out of the woods," 
figuratively, if not literally. 



KANSAS COKBESPONDENCE. 247 



AKKANSAS EDITORS. 

At Searcy station two Arkansas editors came on board, Col. Frolicli, formerlj 
of Canada, and Mr. Henry Fielding, a native of the old town of Athens, Ala- 
bama, and an ex-Confederate soldier. These gentlemen remained with the 
party several days, and furnished all the information possible. 

WE ARRIVE AT LITTLE ROCK. 

The capital of Arkansas could not have appeared to better advantage than 
when first seen by the excursion party. It was a brilliant day, and the town, 
which stands on a high bluff, had the full benefit of the light, the white houses 
fairly glittering amid the dark-green masses of the trees. Looking up the river 
the view is shortened by a bend in the stream, and, as if guarding the passage, 
a high, bold clifi" rises from the water's edge ; this is the "big rock." Below the 
railroad bridge, and at the head of the levee, is a low dark shelving mass of slate 
sloping down into the stream ; this is the ' ' little rock' ' which gives the name to 
the town. An old writer says this rock was the first seen by trappers after leav- 
ing the mouth of the river, and hence arrested their attention. Little Rock is a 
natural town site. The Quapaw Indians had a village here, and the La Faves, a 
French family, located in the vicinity nearly or quite a hundred years ago. 

THE WELCOME. 

The train passed through a rock cutting and swept up to the depot. A band 
was blasting away on the platform, but the visitors paid no attention to music 
on account of the particularly vigorous and able-bodied reception. To a 
Northerner it was an event. Such a pulling and hauling and hand-snatching, 
and dragging of people into carriages and galloping off with them, as if every- 
thing depended on speed, never was seen north of Arkansas. It was evident 
that we had arrived within the domain of the " fine old Arkansas gentleman," 
who, we have been informed, is wont to "go down to New Orleans and wallv 
about the streets, and treat every man from Alabama, Tennessee, the Choctaw 
Nation, and every other vagabond he meets." Arrangements had been made to 
quarter the invaders at private residences, and it was the good fortune of the 
writer to be assigned for dinner-table duty with Mr. J. N. Smithee, formerly of 
the Little Rock Gazette^ and now State Land Commissioner and agent of the 
Associated Press at Little Rock. The selection was a fortunate one for the 
visitor in search of information about Arkansas, Mr. Smithee being a native of 
the State, and having served in the "State forces," journalistic, civil, and 
military. To this gentleman and his amiable wife this reporter will always feel 
under the greatest obligations. 

WE SWING AROUND. 

A drive after dinner came as a matter of course, and Little Rock was quite 
thoroughly inspected. Little Rock is what may be called a reconstructed town. 
Of its early history little has been printed except perhaps in the files of the 
Arkansas Gazette^ established in 1819 and still in existence. 



248 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



LITTLE ROCK IN 1834 



1 



is, however, described in an old book whicli tiie writer found in the Mercantile 
Library at St. Louis, bound up with Janin's "Americans in Paris," and Dick- 
ens' "American Notes." The formidable title of the work is " An Excursion 
through the Slave States from Washington on the Potomac to the Frontier of 
Mexico, with sketches of Popular Manners and Geological Notices," by George 
William Featherstonehaugh, F. R. S., F. G. S. This early Arkansas traveler 
was an Englishman, and traveled in company with Ms son. The most unfortu- 
nate part of his traveling equipment was his stomach, which he ought to have 
left at home. Wherever he struck good feeding he was pleased with the 
country, but at Little Rock his appetite appears to have been subjected to 
various " Southern outrages," and he berates the place and its victuals without 
stint or measure. He describes the Little Rock of 1834 as a wi'etched place of 
500 or 600 inliabitants, of which a large portion were blacklegs of the deepest 
darkness. The town was full of dirt and murder, bed-bugs and robbery.' The 
preacher, Rev. Mr. Stevenson, had but one eye and went in rags, and Mr. 
Featherstonehaugh avows his belief that bibles were a trifle scarcer than in any 
other town he had ever visited. Mr. Woodruff, of the Arkansas Gazette^ he 
describes as a good man, and he has a kind word for Judge Pope, then Gov- 
ernor, who, on the occasion of the geological Britisher's first visit, was out in 
the woods hunting his pigs. He winds up his description by saying that Little 
Rock is surrounded by a very poor country, and can never, by any possibility, 
be a large place. But while we have been talking of the Little Rock of 1834 
" the carriage waits," and we will get into it and drive on. 

NUMBER II. 

The late Prince Hamlet, of Denmark, upon one occasion used the expression, 
" Look here, upon this picture, and on this," and the notice of Little Rock in 
1834 has been introduced by way of contrast to Little Rock as seen in Septem- 
ber, 1875. 

We rode several hours and took in many objects of interest, and yet left the 
business portion of the city almost unvisited. As in many State capitals, tlie 
public buildings are in the outskii-ts of the city, as are many of the finest resi- 
dences. The first object of interest noticed was the United States Arsenal, 
located, as are all the militar}'- posts we have ever seen, with an eye to taste and 
comfort. The building is located in the midst of a spacious square shaded with 
noble trees, and save for the flag flying, a sentry walking his beat, and a few 
guns, their wheels sunk in grass, one would hardly have imagined that the place 
had any connection with ' ' grim-visaged war. ' ' The residence of Albert Pike 
was pointed out, a huge affair, remarkable chiefly for its immense vine- 
enshrouded portico. The hfe of Albert Pike, originally a Massachusetts carpet- 
bagger, would form a queer chapter in biography. " Distance lends enchant- 
ment," not only "to the view," but frequently to the local great man, and a 



KANSA.S CORRESPONDENCE. 249 

citizen of Arkansas, with a lack of reverence frequently observed in his State, 
remarked to the writer, " The trouble with old Pike is that he is too much like 
these hot springs over here, there's too much vapor about him." Nevertheless 
the country owes something to. the man who wrote ' ' The Fine Old Ai-kansas 
Gentleman," and the beautiful little poetic sketch which has drifted about in the 
newspapers without credit for years, "The Old Canoe." The National Ceme- 
tery, a beautifully kept place, and the Confederate Cemetery were passed, and 
soon came an object which awakened more varied feelings than any other, 
natural or artificial, seen in a journey of hundreds of miles — the crumbling 
earth-works of 

FORT STEELE. 

Often and often the writer has speculated concerning the miles of earthworks 
thrown up by the Union forces during the war, has wondered whether they had 
been leveled by the action of the elements or the plow of the farmer, or whether 
they had been utilized in some other way for roads or other purposes. But here 
in the midst of a tangled thicket were still to be seen the regular outlines of old 
Fort Steele. Bushes had grown on the slopes, and the sides of the ditches had 
fallen in at intervals, yet a few hours' labor would be sufficient to make the 
work tenable, but all that had made it a fort had long gone. No sentry walked 
on the parapet, no menacing guns showed their black muzzles over the rampart ; 
no sound of step or voice or drum-beat was heard from within ; only the wind 
rustled in the bushes that waved to and fro, and the wheels of our carriage 
crunched in the gravel. But time will do its work. The trees will advance upon 
the fort, will spring up in the ditch, will silently climb up the slopes, will occupy- 
all the space within, and there form their silent parade forever and ever. 

THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS 

passed were St. John's College, a massive building, owned by the Masonic 
fraternity of Arkansas. One of the cadets of the institution we met by the 
roadside, clad in a handsome uniform of gray, adopted, however, long before 
the "blue and the gray" had any special significance. Then there was the 
Institution for the Blind, and then, after going up hill and down dale for a while, 
we were 

AGAIN IN THE CITY, . 

viewing various school buildings and churches, the largest of the latter belong- 
ing to a colored congregation. Little Rock, in the matter of residences, 
furnishes a vai'iety of architecture unknown in most Northern towns. The 
Arkansas architect and builder seems to be furnished with lumber in abundance, 
and then instructed to build any variety of house he pleases, provided he will 
give plenty of halls and verandas. Ventilation appears to be the principal thing 
sought after. This rambhng, breezy structure frequently has its big chimneys 
on the outside, and is always located in the midst of a large yard filled with . 
trees and shrubbery. A more desirable hot-weather residence it would be hard 



iSO THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

to devise. There are iu the city some residences with mansard roofs, numerous 
gables, and built in the modei-n, ornamented dry-goods box style, but these 
houses are all new ones. The old style of house, with its wide hall through the 
center, in which the proprietor can sit of an evening and play on his \T.olin the 
" Arkansas Traveller," is far preferable, in our opinion. The business portion 
of Little Rock, located on two or three streets running parallel with the river, 
is solidly built up of brick, and may be said to have been created since the war. 
This portion of the city has suffered in appearance from the recent destruction 
of the Anthony House. To sum up, when you are in the business part of Little 
JElock you seem in a Northern city of 20,000 inhabitants ; when you are walking 
along the residence streets you are in the South. 

ON A PLANTATION. 

Leaving the town and going up the river bottom, we traveled a long distance 
amidst a succession of cotton and corn-fields cultivated by penitentiary convicts, 
under the management of Mr. Zeb. Ward, formerly of Kentucky, but now 
lessee of the Arkansas penitentiary. We met a large gang of convicts coming 
in from their work of cotton-picking. They were heavily guarded by armed 
men on horseback, and with two or three exceptions the convicts were negroes, 
selected because they were accustomed to the work. In their striped clothes 
they formed an unpleasant feature in the landscape, but the penitentiary of 
Arkansas is a small affair, and outside labor is a necessity. The plantation 
seemed iu a high state of cultivation. Some fields of cotton were snowy white 
with open bolls, others displayed the dark green of the leaf, and this mass of 
light and dark was broken by the sober brown of the dead-ripe corn-fields. 

The practice of "girdling" is universal in Arkansas, and the white trunks 
and ghostly limbs of dead trees rising against the sky amid the fields, give the 
landscape a dreary appearance. As night approaches the "deadening " has an 
indescribably weird, strange look. One can well imagine that the dreariest scene 
a painter could depict would be a deserted ' ' deadening ' ' in the midst of the 
forests, a place where man has come and gone, and left a straggling fence, a 
white bare spot of earth, dead trees, a ruined cabin and a fireless hearth behind 
him. This picture always presented itself to our mind's eye whenever a "dead- 
ening" came in view. This, however, is a digression from Mr. Zeb. Ward's 
plantation, which was shown as illustrating the fertility of the river bottom lands 
in Arkansas. As an illustration it was a success. Mr. Ward himself led us 
into a perfect jungle of cotton, covering all the ground, much of it rising several 
feet above a six-footer who was present. 

GOING BACK 

to the city we walked about the gas-lit streets and visited the Chamber of Com- 
merce, where we saw the collection of the products of Arkansas which is being 
collected for exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. Without going into details, the 
collection was 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 251 



A REVELATION, 



especially in the matter of fruit. Heretofore we would have as soon spoken of 
oranges in Vermont as apples in Arkansas, but nevertheless Arkansas raises 
apples as fine and large as ever Vermont did. There were pears also as fine as 
any we have ever seen from California. The most interesting to us in the 
collection was, however, the collection of Arkansas wood, and cabinet work con- 
structed of ifative lumber. The man who finds some use for the timber of Arkan- 
sas better than ' ' girdling' ' or burning it, will be the greatest benefactor the 
State has ever known. There was, too, coal from the mines up the Arkansas 
river. Of these mines those of the party who visited them will give an account ; 
the writer cannot speak of them from personal knowledge. He saw, however, 
"Spadra" coal from Arkansas for sale in St. Louis, and coal that is worth 
hauling that distance is good, of course. 

THE BANQUET 

which took place on the night of the arrival of the party in Little Rock, was 
spread in Concordia hall. The room was ornamented with American flags and 
the tables were elegantly laid. Would that George William Featherstonehaugh, 
F. R. S. , F. G. S. , could have been there to see and eat. His British bowels 
would have forgiven the treatment they received in 1834. The " solid food " 
was first-class, but Arkansas rejoices more in her resources in the line of fluid 
nourishment. Native wines, particularly a variety made from the Scuppernong, 
a grape indigenous in the State, are profl"ered every visitor. It, and for that 
matter all the native beverages, are liighly commended by members of the party 
who, in their knowledge of drinks, their names, variety, and the amount of 
them the human frame can stand without instantaneous destruction, haA^e no 
superiors on. this continent. 

WHO WERE THERE. 

In the company were several individuals who have acquired a national celeb- 
rity in connection with the series of epileptic fits through which Arkansas has 
passed in the last 10 j^ears. The fiirst of these the writer met was ex-Chief 
Justice McClure, to whom a veteran Arkansan introduced him after this fashion : 
"Mr. Commonwealth, allow me to introduce Judge McClure, 'Poker Jack.*^ 
You've heard of 'Poker Jack?' " The Judge apparently took no offence, but 
it struck the other party that it would sound queer in Kansas if Judge Kingman 
were introduced generally as "Poker Sam." To a'Kansan an interesting celeb- 
rity was Senator Powell Clayton. In the elegance of his "make-up" and a 
certain ' ' game ' ' air, Clayton was the most striking- looking man present. Gen. 
Churchill, who won his title in the Confederate service, looked the "old- 
fashioned" gentleman; The present Chief Justice, English, wore glasses and 
had a learned, accurate and statistical appearance ; he seemed years ao-o to have 
been filed away for future reference. Judge Wilshire, whose carpet-bag has 
happened to fall on the fortunate side of the fence, was a weather-beaten-looking 



252 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

person, with a rough voice, such as the writer in his youth has heard at Demo- 
cratic mass meetings of the second class, on what the roaring oratoi-s were 
accustomed to call ' ' these y er boundless per-raries of Eehnoy. ' ' Senatt)r 
Dorsey, the colleague of Clayton, was a mercantile-looking person with eye- 
glasses, and kept "hisself to hisself." The welcoming address was delivered 
by Gen. Robert Newton, a prominent lawyer of Little Rock, who com- 
manded the Baxter troops in the late Brooks-Baxter conflict, and who has by 
common consent been elected Generalissimo of all the "good feUows " in Little 
Rock and vicinity. Politicians of both parties and editors of every species 
known made talks, long and short. The Arkansans held the best hand in the 
oratorical line, their efforts being generally free from poUtical allusions, 
always warmly commendatorj'' of their own State — as was proper — and Irindly in 
their tone toward their Northern visitors. Perhaps the most striking speech of 
the evening, in the true quaUties of an after-supper speech, fun and eloquence, 
was made by Mr. Pomeroy, a Little Rock attorney with newspaper tendencies. 

NUMBER III. 

We find that we have stayed up too late at Little Rock, and must make brief 
notices of other locahties visited. The next morning after leaving Little Rock 
we were at Malvern, on the St. Louis, L-on Mountain & Southern Raiboad, 
where the narrow-gauge railroad, now in course of construction to Hot Springs, 
connects with that line. We will not, however, give the bill of fare of the 
breakfast at Malvern, nor the speech which worthy Mr. Fraser fired at us from 
the depot platform. 

THE RIDE ON THE NARROW-GAUaE, 

on platform cars, in the early morning, was an exhilarating experience. The 
engine was ornamented with a crown and cotton-plant, the first thing we had 
seen or heard of "King Cotton." The road winds among pine-clad hills, 
which, when rode around, are very picturesque, but when rode over are simply 
infernal. The railroad lasted seven mUes, and then the staging commenced and 
lasted for, say, twenty miles, though they seemed twenty thousand. Feather- 
stonehaugh, who rode to the Springs from Little Rock in 1834, describes the 
road as frightful, and the forty years which have passed have improved it but 
sHghtly. It made one's bones ache to think of the hundreds of cripples who have 
been jammed, banged, bumped and thumped over this old "trail." But the 
railroad will soon have abolished this misery. , Maj. Joe Reynolds, of Chicago,- 
the builder, may become the richest man in America. 

THE FAMOUS HOT SPRINGS 

have been often described, particularly of late years, since they have become 
the resort of Northern invalids. No description, however, ever conveyed to the 
writer the proj)er idea of the real appearance of the locality, and he will not 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 253 

attempt to describe it himself. Imagine Kansas avenue running for a mile 
or so between two steep, wooded mountains 500 feet high ; take space from 
this for a creek as wide as the Shunganunga when that sweet stream has water 
in it ; run a horse-railway up the middle of this street, and then line both sides of 
the street with white frame edifices, varying in character from one-story barber- 
shops, drink-mills and bath-houses, to big, sprawling, wooden hotels, some. of 
them containing 100 rooms each, and you have a dim picture of the town of 
Hot Springs, a place founded by — well, say inflammatory rheumatism. 

THE SPRINGS 

themselves have been known for a long time. Said a,n Arkansan to us, " They 
was known befo' the eighteenth century come in. My great-uncle heard of 
them in the year 1798, which was befo' the eighteenth century begun. " This 
gentleman, in being a century behind in his calculations, is not entirely alone 
among the old settlers of Arkansas. In 1834 four or five miserable shanties 
had been erected near the spot where the 57 springs sent up their vapor above 
the tops of the bushes, and poured out their 504,000 gallons of water every 
24 hours. One of the householders was a Mr. Whittington, and the writer 
was introduced to a young Mr. Whittington at the Springs, presumably a son 
of this pioneer. Family names ' ' stick ' ' to localities in Arkansas. Nearly 
every name prominent in early Arkansas politics can be found either at Little 
Rock or Helena. 

The excursionists remained the guests of the citizens of Hot Springs for a 
day and night, and were quartered at the Arlington, the Hot Springs, and other 
hotels. They found the fare generall}^ good, took the baths, which were delight- 
ful, gazed at the springs, which are wonderful, and at some of the patients, who 
were indescribably disgusting. It is the constant presence of crippled and 
broken-down invalids which must make this medical resort a place of horrors 
until the eye becomes accustomed to such sights. Of course gallons of the 
water were drank. It is colorless and tasteless, like any clean warm water, the 
only noticeable difference being that any quantity of the springs water can be 
drank without nausea, while anything like as much ordinary warm water would 
make the drinker throw himself inside out. The water undoubtedly possesses 
great curative powers, though possibly some of its alleged qualities are fabulous. 
For instance, it is said to destroy the taste for whisky, but nothing of the kind 
was observed by the editorial party. 

AMUSEMENTS 

were provided by the citizens. Among other things a dog and bear fight was 
organized at "the park," the admission being fixed at the ruinously low price 
of 25 cents. The people had evidently read some of the editorial controversies 
of their Northern friends, and thought a dog and bear fight would be just in 
their line. All hands attended, but the bear and dogs, being the most pusillan- 
imous of their respective races, took it all out in growling and howling, instead 



254 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

of strewing the field with blood, hair, and other substances. On the way to 
and from the fair grounds several of the party rode in the street-cars with a 
gentleman who appreciated the power of the press. 

MR, KIRKENDALL 

was a tall, bony man, with a sandy beard and light-blue eyes, which, on this 
occasion, were indisputably "sot." The truth is" that Mr. Kirkendall had 
reached that stage of inebriation which might be called the vociferously friendly. 
He insisted on paying the car-fare of his editorial friends, and kept up a series 
of observations something like this: "My name's Kirkendall. I run the 
independent hack line. I brought yo' all over from Malvern this mawning. 
Put it down whar it won't git rubbed out, that my name's Kirkendall, and that 
I run the independent hack line. Do you see yon house? That's Smith's 
house. He's a nice man, Smith is, and he keeps a nice house. He knows me, 
for my name's Kirkendall, and I run the independent hack line. I've paid yo' 
fare on these k'yars. I always was a generous, whole-souled kind of a cuss, 
and I don't want you to forgit to put it in yo' papers that Kirkendall runs the 
independent hack line. I fit in the Confedrit army fo' years to free the d — d 
niggers, and I'se glad they're free. And now my name's Kirkendall, and I run 
the independent hack line." And so Mr. Kirkendall kept it up until his 
auditors were fain to join in singing 

"Oh, birdie, I am tired now, 
I do not care to hear you sing." 

OFF AGAIN. 

Without giving any Jenkinsisms about the ball given at the Arlington and 
Hot Springs, and reserving some remarks concerning the value and future pros- 
pects of the Springs to another paper, the writer will hurry on over the road to 
Malvern, remarking that we were so fortunate as to traverse the "dirt road" 
with the loss of only one horse, who broke its leg running down hill and had to 
be shot. 

It was intended to go to Texarkana, but the trip ended substantially at Arka- 
delphia, where we arrived too late for a warm barbecue and devoured a cold one. 
At night there were speeches from both sides. The country around Arkadelphia, 
which is a little old town on the Ouachita, is said to be fertile, and the " black 
lands" are considered especially valuable. The train run down to some very 
fine cotton-fields a few miles south. But ' ' Arky ' ' looked very sleepy, and one 
of the churches had a tree growing out of its side, while the steeple looked as if 
it had befen ofi" somewhere on a " tear " very unbecoming in a steeple. A new. 
made town like Little Rock makes one sick of old Arkansas towns. More Little 
Rocks and fewer "Arkys " are what Arkansas needs. 

GOING EAST. 

Returning to Little Rock the party divided, the larger portion going west on 
the Fort Smith road, the minority going east on the Little Rock & Memphis road. 
The writer went this route because he wished to see the 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 255 

GRAND PRAIRIE, 

the largest body of prairie land in Arkansas. Stops were made at Carlisle, 
Lonoke and Prairie Center, all in the Grand Prairie or some of the smaller prai- 
ries di^dded from it by narrow bodies of timber. Grand Prairie is about 100 
miles long, and seldom if ever wider than six miles, and is very irregular in its 
form. It is everywhere skirted bj^ heavy timber, and resembles a bay of grass 
penetrating into a coast of timber ; the shore indented by coves and inlets, and 
the bay occasionally dotted by islands of timber. The prairie as seen from the 
cars seems a dead level, but there is really considerable inequality of surface. 
Where there is a depression or a slough, a ' ' point of timber' ' will run far out into 
the prairie. With the exceptions of the stations we have named there was little 
sign of settlement. Indianians and Illinoisans are now coming in, however. 

BALING HAY 

is a business which has been actively carried on in the prairie for the past three 
years. The prairie hay sells at Memphis at generally remunerative figures. Ex- 
Governor Hadley, who joined us at Carhsle, is farming and hay-making iu the 
prairie with good success. 

AT BRINCKLEY 

we came across the finest saw-mill we saw in Arkansas. It is owned by a Mr. 
Black, who is said by his neighbors to be making money. The saw-mill and 
the hay-baling machine, both seen on the line of the Memphis & Little Rock 
Railroad, encouraged us about the future of Arkansas. 

JOGGING ALONG 

in the hot sun, in a perfectly straight line, we came to Devall's Bluff, a famous 
town during the war, but now the red, dusty streets, running up hill and down, 
and the low frame houses, seemed to be taking an afternoon doze. It made one 
think of old afternoons spent in taking troubled naps and fighting flies under a 
" dog- tent " to look at Devall's Bluff. Crossing White river, we ran a long- 
distance on trestles through 

AN ARKANSAS SWAMP, 

which is probably the swampiest swamp in which anybody was ever swamped. 
The luxuriance of veget9.tion in these low grounds is wonderful. It seemed as 
if even the strong-limbed bear could not force his way through the tangled 
mass of cane and vines which formed in a wall of green nearly as high as the 
trestle-work, and in which the dark cypress stood nearly waist-deep. All the 
saw-mills- in Arkansas, working for a year, could scarcely make a respectable 
clearing in such timber. It made oiie respect the railroad-builder to see that 
he had forced the wet vdlderness to give waj^ for him. 

AT FORREST CITY 

our journey eastward ended. This town is four miles west of the St. Francis 
river, and is located on the famous "Crowley's ridge," a long divide between 



256 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the water systems of eastern Arkansas, and in the vicinity of Forrest City sepa- 
rating the waters of the St. Francis and L'Anguille. The town is only five 
years old, and has, like many Arkansas towns, suffered greatly from fires, but 
seemed a lively business place. It was smart but ugly. Its situation on the 
water-shed was indicated by the gulches and guUeys which cut up the town site. 
The visitors were formally " received," and then assigned to the difierent 
hotels for dinner. After this the party were driven out in the country to see 
the cotton and the corn. The writer did not go out in a big barouche with the 
mayor and common council, but rode out in a one-horse buggy with an old 
gentleman who bore the Old Testament name of M. Isaacs. Mr. Isaacs 
proved to be, like all his people, a clear-headed business man. He cared no 
more about politics than the mare "Minnie" he was driving. He had lived 
in St. Louis, in Boonville, Mo., and in Memphis, and for some years past in 
Forrest City, and thought his pearly eye-teeth had emerged from the rose-pink 
surface of his gums. He was a gentle-spoken old man, and it was a pleasure to 
hear him talk, as we rode out on the Helena road and looked at the wide, low- 
lying cotton-fields, with here and there the white house of the planter, and 
occasionally a group of cabins occupied by the colored folks, who looked at us 
fixedly and silently as we passed. It was quite dark when we got back to 
Forrest City, and soon after our arrival the speech-making began, in which the 
visitors and the visited told how glad they were to see each other, the addresses 
closing with a very sensible talk by ex-Governor Hadley. 

WE TAKE THE BACK TRACK. 

Leaving Forrest City, going west, we" got to Little Rock about one o'clock on 
Sunday morning. The party of explorers on the Fort Smith road had returned 
hours ahead, and were already" sleeping in their little Pullmans. Our delega- 
tion generally joined them, the writer remaining in Little Rock with Mr. T. B. 
Mills until Sunday afternoon ; and what Mr. Mills said, also what Mr. Isaacs had 
to say, and what a great many people said in Arkansas, and what the writer 
thinks of Arkansas agriculturally, minerally, politically, socially and generally, 
will be reserved for another paper, which will close the observations of "The 

New Arkansas Traveller. ' ' 

* 

NUMBER IV. 

Before the days of railroads a week's travel would give a visitor little or no 
idea of a State like Arkansas, 241 miles north and south by 285 miles east and 
west; yet journeying leisurely by railroad, the writer within a week passed 
through portions of the counties of Clayton, Lawrence, Jackson^ White, Lonoke, 
Pulaski, Hot Springs, Garland, Clark, Monroe and St. Francis. In that time 
he saw the largest cit}'" and certainly some of the smallest villages in the State ; 
saw barrens, prairies, river bottoms and ridges, and in Garland county got an 
idea of mountains. He saw lands that raise the finest cotton, and lands that 
raise nothing but little pines and big rocks. In short, he saw enough to give 
him an idea of the resources of the State, though, possibly, he may not be 
fortunate enough to convey that idea to others. 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 257 

THE CONCLUSION 

drawn from this survey may be briefly summed up as follows : Arkansas is " all 
sorts" of a State; it is a compound of Pennsylvania and Louisiana, slightly 
mixed with Illinois and even Vermont. It nowhere, however, looks like Kansas, 
and to institute a comparison between the two would be like asking a man which 
he liked best, to eat pumpkin pie or to have his back scratched; The writer has 
never been able to understand why any man should hew out a farm in the woods 
while there is any prairie left open for settlement, yet there are plenty of people 
who think differently, and to this day in Arkansas the prevailing belief appears 
to be that timber land is the most valuable for agricultural purposes. To peo- 
ple, then, who are fond of woods, Arkansas ought to be a desirable country. 
We should certainly prefer it to a Northern timbered countTy. If the timber of 
the country can be utilized, Arkansas is rich in those forests which have hitherto 
obstructed her progress. The mineral resources of the State are also unques- 
tionably great, in coal especially. 

THE MINERAL SPRINGS 

have brought a great deal of money into the State. This is evidenced by the fact 
that in a wild country, in a gorge of the mountains, such a town as Hot Springs 
has been built. We presume a street railway, every rail for which was dragged 
over a bad country road for over 20 miles, was never seen before. The town of 
Hot Springs is a wonder, and yet the improvements are not neai'ly as permanent 
as would have been the case had not the title to the town site and springs been 
in dispute between private parties and the United States Government. The case 
is now in the Supreme Court of the United States, and the decision, whatever it 
may be, will be fortunate for Hot Springs. The title settled and the railroad 
completed. Hot Springs will certainly become the great watering-place of the 
South and West, possibly of the Union. Great hotels will be built and a crowd of 
visitors from every section of the country coming, and going, will bring Arkansas 
not only money, butwhat is .jometimes better than cash in hand — advertising. 

THE BEST HOLD 

of Arkansas is, unquestionably, the climate. Most people hate cold weather,, 
and Arkansas aflfords a refuge from it. Bishop Morris, of the Methodist 
Church, who traversed the country in 1837, and again in 1841, said, writing 
from Little Rock : 

" I have no doubt but this is one of the finest climates in the United States, 
forming a medium between the extremes north and south, so as to secure its 
inhabitants generally against the winter fever of the former and the yellow fever 
of the latter. If climate only were to be considered in selecting a permanent 
residence, it should be located between the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth degrees 
of north latitude, a range which includes Little Rock, and stretches across the 
Chickasaw purchase in the State of Mississippi, North Alabama, the up-country 
of Georgia, and the southeast corner of North Carolina." 
17 



25& THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

The writer has no confidence in the theory that a Northern man cannot live 
in a Southern climate, or that he becomes enervated by it. The man of Anglo- 
Saxon blood can live anywhere. A Yankee from Maine can thrive in Louisiana. 
The Highlander of the British army can out-march and out-fight the Sepoy on 
his native soil, and conquer the Ashantee in his own jungle. The Northern 
forces serving in the South during the war lost fewer men by sickness than the 
Southern troops, the difference being probably in the superior hospital resources 
of the Union army. It is not so much tohere a man lives as how he lives that 
makes the difference in health. The sickest-looking specimen of white human- 
ity is to be found, it is true, in Arkansas, but he is to be found in every Southern ' 
Srtiate, and his cousin, the " catfish aristocrat," lives on the Missouri river 
bottom in Kansas and Missouri. The " poor white " is the same everywhere. 
His jail-fever complexion, his coffee-colored eye, his thin black beard, his 
hanging under-lip, his lank hair, all set off" by his dirty shirt and his tow 
trousers without suspenders, are the same on the hill-side as in the river bottom. 
He is a man without any pedigree, and climate has no more to do with his 
appearance than it has to do with the health of "possums" and jay-birds. 
Our British traveler, whom we have quoted so often, saj's that this son of a 
sand-hill crane would not, in 1834, eat wild ducks or hardly any kind of wild 
game. Pork, and all pork, had so vitiated his appetite that he could not taste 
anything. The people who live well in Arkansas, the towns-people more partic- 
ularly, are fully up to the standard physically. 

OLD ARKANSAS 

illustrated the proverb, "give a dog a bad name and kill him." Admitted as a 
Territory in 1812, it was not until 1836 that Arkansas became a State ; and 
during this Territorial period it became encumbered with a bad reputation, 
which chngs to it even to this day. It was the happy hunting-ground of 
outlaws and blacklegs, who took refuge in its swamps, forests and mountains. 
Every traveler who, in the early days, visited Arkansas, was thoroughly dis- 
gusted by the bad roads and the numerous streams to be crossed. To penetrate 
the country fi'om the Mississippi it was necessary to go through a region of 
lagoons and bayous, a region nearly submerged at high water, and thus first 
impressions of Arkansas were uniavorable. Then the talk of the country was of 
"bars" and "painters," and of the men who killed these brutes, and occasionally 
let daylight through each other. The late lamented Mr. Bowie, with the delicate 
disemboweller which bears his name, ranged through the country and laid 
the foundations of rural graveyards. It was told how Mr. Speaker Wilson, of 
the Arkansas House of Representatives, met on the floor of the House the Hon. 
Mr. Anthony, and how each took the chair — to fend off — and made motions — 
with knives — until IMr. Anthony yielded up not only the floor but the ghost. 

In contra&t to these came brighter scenes as described in Porter's " Quarter 
Race in Arkansas," "The Adventures of an Arkansas Doctor," and lastly the 
famous tune and recitative of the " Arkansas Traveler." The memory of Col. 
" Sandy " Faulkner, the original "Arkansas Traveler," who died not long since. 



KANSAS COKRESPONDENCE. 259 

is tenderly preserved in Arkansas, and his violin is now for sale in Little Rock, 
its price being fixed at $100. But Mills, who sells land, and has "no nonsense 
about him, "is of the opinion that the ' ' Arkansas Traveler ' ' has been a curse 
to the State, the dialogue conveying the impression that the native " Racken- 
sacker" is an idle dog that will never fix his leaking roof in this world. 
There may be something in this theory. At any rate, everything told about 
Arkansas in early times was such as to prejudice the Northern emigrant against 
it, leaving out the matter of slavery, everywhere a barrier against the Northerner. 

MINOR TROUBLES. 

The war did nothing, of course, to help Arkansas, and immediately after its 
close began those political squabbles, and that rapid succession of Governors, 
which attracted attention and remark the reverse of complimentary. It is not 
our purpose to lead our readers into the maze of Arkansas politics, but merely to 
state that in the midst of these troubles 

NEW ARKANSAS 

was built up. The burden of the speeches at the Little Rock banquet was that 
" the troubles" had retarded the growth of the State, but it is oiu- conviction that 
in spite of "the troubles" the State has been doing very well. In 1862 Arkan- 
sas had 85 miles of railroad, in 1872, 258 miles, and now has, or had a few days 
ago, 706 miles of completed raih'oad. The great road of the State, the St. 
Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, cuts across the State diagonally as the 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe does in Kansas, and then the Memphis & Little 
Rock and the Little Rock & Fort Smith cross the State from east to west. Then 
there are numerous other roads in all stages of progress. As "the troubles" 
have not hurt the railroads, so they have not hurt the city of Little Rock, which 
has grown from 3,000 to 12,000 inhabitants since the war. Neither have they 
hurt Helena. Not onlj?^ have the old towns grown, but new ones have plentifully 
sprung up. New Ai'kansas is by no means the garden spot of the world, but it 
is far in advance of old Arkansas. 

WHAT BID IT. 

The principal cause of this improvement is railroads and carpet-baggers. The 
writer has always believed that the cry against carpet-baggers in the South was 
the result of partisanship and prejudice, and its echo in the North the manifesta- 
tions of childish stupidity. Arkansas with its six great rivers can never be 
opened without railroads, and can never be settled ^athout carpet-baggers. You 
can go nowhere in Little Rock or in the improved parts of the State without 
seeing evidence of Northern money and enterprise. Northern men have adver- 
tised Arkansas as she was never advertised before. Theodore B. Mills has 
introduced into the State the system of land advertising of which he was one of 
the originators in Kansas, and is worth more to-day to Arkansas than all the 
politicians, native and foreign, black and white and mixed, in the State, and in. 
this connection we may say that the enterprise of Mr. Mills and his partners is 
very generally appreciated. 



260 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELERS. 

THE POLITICAL CONDITION 

of the State is a matter of general inquiry, but the writer confesses that he took 
little pains while in Arkansas to investigate the matter. He found political 
newspaper correspondents were off color. Both sides insisted that they liad 
been behed, and that newspaper men from abroad made no attempt to tell the 
facts. Just now a government is in power with which the Democrats are 
immensely pleased, and which the Repubhcans accept without grumbling. 
Ex-Governor Hadley, a Republican, in his speech at Forrest Citj^, spoke in 
commendatory terms of the present Governor, Garland. The Brooks-Baxter 
war was a tempest in a tea-pot, but it left the tea-pot cleaner after it was over. 
If the present administration has a fault it is a tendency to antediluvianism. 
There seems to be too much bull-tongue plow and blue jeans about it. Several 
straws floating about indicated that the educational arrangements of the State 
were going backward instead of forward. The office of the State Superintendent 
of Public Instruction has been merged with that of Secretary of State, a bad 
movement. The Agricultural College at Fayetteville appears to be nearly or quite 
broken up, and there was considerable significance in the remark made by a 
long-legged youth at Arkadelphia. In reply to the question whether they had 
public schools or not, he said that they had them (common schools) two years 
ago, but not now ; that they did not work well and " injured the other schools," 
meaning the ' ' subscription schools. ' ' This was evidence enough of their 
efficiency. But Arkansas is going to move ahead. The young men of the 
State and the emigrants will not allow any well-meaning grannies to stop the car 
cf progress. 

THE COLORED VOTER 

has ' ' got left. ' ' All parties were represented at the Little Rock banquet save 
his. Nobody counts on him, and he is generally "scooped." His "craw" is 
not sufficiently filled with silicious matter and he has lost his chance. He does 
the hard work of the country, picks cotton, is sometimes a section hand on the 
railroad, but save that he no longer takes off his hat or speaks to a white man he 
does not know, he is about the same as of yore. Contradictory stories are told 
about him. Mr. Isaacs, of Forrest City, represents him as fair pa}', reasonable, 
honest and industrious, and generally a good citizen who "kept straight" and 
sent his children to school. A large planter near Little Rock said the colored 
laborer was a natural gambler and spent his wages every week in negro gambling 
hells and saloons in Little Rock. We heard no complaint, however, of the 
scarcity of labor. As a laborer the free colored man in Arkansas is a success, 
but he is "ruinated" as a politician. 

THE ARKANSAS GENTLEMAN 

still survives. We met him numerously and he made good speeches. No more 
generous and mnning hospitality was ever exhibited than his. He said he was 
glad to see us, and wanted Northern men to come down to Arkansas and settle, 



1 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 261 

and it would be ungenerous to disbelieve in his sincerity. Because we found 
Mm so good a fellow personally, we wish him a happy riddance of his pohtical 
prejudices, and especially his reverence for things as they were in 1836, We 
wish Arkansas good luck, more raikoads, a thousand fold more schools, more 
public benevolent institutions, more carpet-baggers, more wheat, more double- 
s^iovel plows, more towns like Little Rock. With these Arkansas, the "woods 
colt," will become one of the most "stylish" flyers on Uncle Sam's course. 



FROM THE "EMPORIA NEWS." 



JACOB STOTLER, Correspondent. 



On the 27th of September we left Emporia for a look at the State of Arkan- 
sas. We had been honored with an invitation from Col. J. M. Loughborough, 
Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, 
and Col. T. B. Mills, land agent at Little Rock, to join an editorial excursion 
which was to leave St. Louis the next evening for a tour through that State. 
We were the more anxious to make this trip, and the more thankful to the 
above named gentlemen for offering us the opportunity, because we had never 
been in any of the Southern States. We desired to see the condition of the 
country and people for ourselves, and the desire has been gratified. We 
propose to devote considerable space to a description of what we saw. 

There is nothing of interest on the trip from here to Topeka. At Topeka we 
got a meal at the eating-house. There is a good deal of the white apron "style" 
here, and not much to eat. The dishes brought were small, and not much food 
per dish. But when the proprietor has a good thing he believes in letting his 
guests share it with him, at the usual 75 cents per head. For instance, we had 
two kinds of pie, both apple, and two kinds of rice, both boiled. While we were 
satisfying our hunger, in came our friend Noble L. Prentis, of the Common- 
wealthy carpet-bag in hand, and we were more than gratified to learn that he, 
too, was booked for the Arkansas excursion. 

Armed with the necessary credentials from Col. Tom Anderson, we boarded 
the Santa Fe train over the Midland, for Kansas City. We had not been over 
this part of the State since the days of the Terrys and their stage-coaches, and 
the trip from here to Lawrence, on the new and smooth road, was one of 
interest. We looked in vain for old Tecumseh. The road runs along the 
bottoms and in the woods, and a search for the " landmarks " of the old hill 
road is so much gazing out of the window for nothing. Soon the brakeman 
sang out "Lecompton." But little of the ancient capital is visible. In fact. 



262 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

there is but little of it. • Our mind immediately reverted to the day when we 
had last seen this historic place, which, in Territorial days, was the rendezvous 
of border ruffians, and all that was infamous in Pierce and Buchanan Democ- 
racy. On the day mentioned the Territorial Legislature adjourned from 
Lecompton to Lawrence, the "Abolitionists" of the latter place having "got 
away" with Lecompton, Hugh Walsh and all. Uncle Chester Thomas and 
Judge Nate Price, as members of the Territorial Council, had " hfted " us 
into the position of Assistant Secretar}^, and Secretary John J. IngaUs (now 
Senator) and ourself mounted the " upper deck " of a stage-coach and carried 
the " archives " of the old Territorial Council to the historic city. That was 
the last we ever saw of Lecompton, and the fate which was then predicted for 
it followed speedily. We could see from the car window a few of the old 
buildings, and when we think what Lecompton's prospects once were, and what 
it is to-day, the prospect is one of inexpressible loneliness. 

We arrived at Kansas City at 4.20. Contrary to our expectations, we found 
that "transportation" to St. Louis had not been arranged for, as promised ; 
or rather, if it had, all traces of it had melted away in the fire which had des- 
troyed the Union depot but a few days before. It looked for a time as though 
our excursion had been brought to an abrupt termination. Prentis busied 
himself running through the crowd of railroaders to find something or some- 
body who knew something about the great Ai'kansas excursion. Singular as 
it may seem, our Kansas City friends of the press knew nothing of it. But 
good fortune thi-ew us in the hands of Pangborn, of the Times, and Col. Cobb, 
of Wyandotte, and we flnallj^ found a gentleman who made it all right with the 
conductor of the Missouri Pacific train, and we got to St. Louis next morning, 
"right side up with care." 

THE START. 

There was a crowd at the Iron Mountain ticket office under the Southern hotel 
^Tuesday evening, selecting berths and preparing for the trip. The train moved 
out of St. Louis at nine o'clock p. m. the 28th, with about 100 editors, and 
a few others who had been fortunate enough to receive "in-vates." Among 
those who accompanied the excursion were Col. Loughborough, who used every 
endeavor tlu'oughout the trip for the comfort and enjoyment of his guests ; T. B. 
Mills, weU known in Kansas ; Hon. Logan H. Roots, an ex-member of Congress 
from Arkansas ; Judge Shhk, of Peru, Indiana, who has traveled almost the 
entire State, and has made investments there, and others. There were other 
gentleman along for various purposes, for a description of which see Prentis' 
account of the trip. In the morning we awoke at an early hour and found our 
train at Moark, just over in Arkansas. The town takes its name from the usual 
abbrevi,ation in the names of the two States, Mo. and Ark., being a combination 
of the two. The red soil showed that we had got out of the influence upon it 
of the Iron Mountain regions. It was to us a new sight. On the one hand was 
the old-fashioned ' ' deadening ' ' of the early days of Ohio and Indiana. In the 
midst of this was the settler's rude log cabin, the whole tinged with the bright 



KANSA.S CORRESPONDENOt;. 263 

and genial rays of the early sunlight, while the smoke from the stick and mud 
chimney ascended skyward, betokening perfumes of crackling hog-meat and 
strong coffee inside the cabin. The countiy was heavily tiipbered here, mostly 
with a tall slim tree called the gum. There was also plenty of white oak, 
hickory, etc. The country for manj^ miles is level. We soon caught a glimpse 
of the first cotton-field we ever saw. In this section this crop, as well as the 
corn, is rather small, although there were some creditable fields of the latter. 
One of the partj^ who is acquainted with the State told an anecdote here which 
we all relished. Some travelers happened in the town one cold Sabbath morning, 
and wanted something "warming." After searching around some time they 
espied the ever-present sign, "Saloon." On inquiring where the keeper might 
be found they were told he was the superintendent of the only Sabbath school in 
the village, and it would be impossible to have the saloon opened until the 
school adjourned, as the superintendent was a little scrupulous about running 
the school and the saloon at the same time. After the school was over they had 
no trouble in inducing the superintendent to open his " place of business " and 
accommodate them with all the "bug- juice" they wanted. This is not a 
fancy sketch, but genuine. He has since resigned the superintendency of the 
school. 

BREAKFAST. 

At an early hour we ate a good breakfast at Walnut Ridge. While the train 
was jvaiting a large black bear chained to a post amused the company with many 
antics. He seemed to have a particular liking for the Chicago Times man, who 
was about heavy enough for a good morning lunch. Had the bear taken it into 
his head to chaw up the Chicago Bohemian, the " audience" would have had a 
shocking illustration of the old saying in regard to . conveying in' ards to a bear. 
But the animal was in extremely good humor, and was evidently on his good 
behavior, so we were all aboard again "without the loss of one." Walnut 
Ridge is in a beautiful scope of country. In this section of the State we passed 
several new towns which have been laid out since the railroad was constructed. 
Black river, along which we traveled, is a beautiful stream, navigable for a long 
distance above. At Newport we crossed "^^Hiite river, which is quite a large 
stream, and is navigable to some point up in Missouri. . 

NEW TOWN AND COLLEGE. 

Further on we came to Judsonia, a new town located on the Little Red river 
at the railroad crossing. This is ftO miles north of Little Rock. It is a Baptist 
colony, and was recently removed from some point further in the interior. It 
is the seat of Judson University, Rev. Benjamin Thomas, a live and thorough- 
going Welshman, having charge of the institution. He boarded the train here 
and accompanied us on the trip. Here we saw the first bale of cotton, and 
smTOunding it was an American flag. It is expected by Mr. Thomas that there 
will be 500 students at the next session of the college. The timber land in this 
section is good and can be bought for $5 and $6 per acre. The timber is worth 



264 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

many times the price, and can be shipped to St. Louis at very reasonable figures. 
We have no doubt but that Judsonia will become a thriving town, ' and the 
surrounding country* prosperous and desu-able. The Little Red is a fine stream. 
The next station is Searcy. The main town is located four and a half miles 
back from the railroad, and is connected with the station by a horse railroad. 
The town of Searcy contains about 2,000 population and has fine sulphur 
springs. Here Col. Frolich, a Searcy editor, came on board and accompanied 
the excursion south. He is a very intelligent gentleman, and gave the excur- 
sionists much valuable information in regard to the State. 

AT LITTLE ROCK. 

About one o'clock we came in sight of the Arkansas river and Little Rock, the 
capital of Arkansas. The river here is not much wider than the Ouachita, but is 
a much more valuable stream, because it is navigable almost the entire year. 
From here we have a fine \dew of Little Rock, as it lies stretched along the high 
hills on the south bank of the river. Crossing the fine bridge of the Iron 
Mountain Railroad Company, we are soon at the depot. A splendid band 
greeted us with its music, and hundreds of citizens were there with carriages, 
hacks, etc., to welcome the editors and carry them to their various homes for 
dinner. Stepping from the train we grasped the hand of Geo. K. Farquhar, Esq., 
a friend of our boyhood days, and were soon welcomed by his estimable wife, 
with whom we were well acquainted in the good old ' ' days of yore ' ' in "Wil- 
mington, Ohio. Our friend had been in Little Rock nearly three years, and is 
highly pleased with the country and the city. 

After a chat over old times, and a good dinner, a ride to the cotton- 
plantations and over the city was next proposed. Above the city, on the 
Arkansas river, we saw cotton six and seven feet high, and heard explained 
the process of growing, ripening, picking, &c. It was a sight of much interest 
to us. Returning, we rode over the city, ^dewing its beautiful residences, its 
well-built business streets, and points of interest. The State House stands 
on the bank of the river, in a grove of noble shade-trees. It is rather an 
old-fashioned looking building, and is a relic of the " old Arkansas." As we 
saw Little Rock we thought it one of the cleanest, shadiest and handsomest 
towns in aU our travels. The residences are built with a special view to 
securing the southern breeze, and wide halls and porches were the prevailing 
style. There were many more modern buildings. Above town, on the Arkan- 
sas, stand several residences which, for size and elegance, cannot be excelled 
anywhere. Among these are the residences of Senators Clayton, Dorsey, and 
others. The city contains a population of 20,000. It has mostly been built 
since the war, having only 5,000 population previous to that time. Its pros- 
pects are most encouraging. What it wants now, more than anything else, is 
large manufacturing establishments, and these it will have at no distant day, 
because it has all that nature can give to make it a manufacturing town. There 
is comparatively little now in this line, probably on account of the lack of home 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 265 

capital and enterprise, and from the heretofore unsettled condition of politics. 
Its business streets are as well built as those of any other city of its size we 
were ever in. The town, like the State, is just awakening from its sleep of 
so-called chivalric indolence and violence, and is beginning to breathe a newer 
and fresher air, and to reach out for a new and prosperous life. The people 
begin to realize something of the destiny within their grasp, and have broken 
the shell of selfishness and folly which has so long held back almost every 
portion of the South. They begin to realize that they cannot live without 
meeting with and invoking the aid of their fellow-men, irrespective of political 
opinions. They now look with smiles upon a blue-bellied Yankee, and invite 
him to come there and live. Little Rock has taken a "new departure," and 
we shall be somewhat mistaken if, within the next decade, her population does 
not go up from 50,000 to 75,000 in number. If it does not, the fault will lie at 
her own door. 

The public buildings pointed out were the Capitol, Governor Garland's 
spacious residence, the penitentiary near the city, St. John's College, owned 
by the Masonic fraternity and well conducted, and the Insane Asylum. For 
the benefit of Kansans we will say that the State penitentiary . is so conducted 
as not to cost the State a cent. In this particular Arkansas is to be en-^ded* by 
Kansas. 

THE BANQUET. 

At Concordia Hall, in the evening, the editors were given a banquet. This 
we did not attend, preferring to enjoy the short time allotted us in this city to 
interidewing our friend Fagupor about Arkansas, and talking over old times. 
The banquet was a splendid affair in all particulars. After feasting to their 
hearts' content, the editors were orated to by citizens, and many of them made 
good replies. The "lion and the lamb" have laid down together in Little 
Rock, and there was a general and good-natured mixing of Republicans and 
Democrats on this occasion, as on all others throughout the trip. The ex- 
soldiers on both sides seem to have forgotten theu' old animosities, and Senator 
Powell Clayton and ex-rebel General Churchill were both at the entertainment. 
Even the Baxter-Brooks trouble is almost forgotten. The points of interest in 
this struggle were shown only after being inquired for, and the impression we 
got from all quarters was that there had been a general wiping-out in the State, 
and a- determination on the part of all to devote every effort to reforming the 
follies of the past, and to unite in efforts for the upbuilding of the interests of 
the State. 

I T. B. MILLS. 

Before leaving the capital city we desire to say a word of this gentleman, so 
well known in Kansas. He occupies one of the largest and most prominent 
buildings in the city, and is doing as great a work for Arkansas as he did some 
years ago for this State. He circulates monthly 30,000 copies of his Spirit of 
Arkansas^ a well-conducted real estate paper. What the capital of Kansas lost 
when he left was gained by the capital of Arkansas, and from expressions we 



266 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAYELERS. 

heard everywhere, the people there fully appreciate his efforts. He is doing a 
great work in the way of bringing the advantages of that State to the notice of 
the public and in developing its great resources, and his many Kansas friends 
will be glad to learn of his success. 

merchants' EXCHANGE, 

From Mr. Mills' office we visited the hall of the Merchants' Exchange, where 
we found on exhibition specimens of the products of Arkansas. These embraced 
all the fruits, cereals, grasses, woods, minerals, etc. It would take an hour to 
tell what there is here. The specimens would be a credit to any State in the 
Union. In fruits Ai'kansas will compare favorably with any display we have 
seen. We were particularly interested in the display of the woods. Several 
kinds are susceptible of the highest jDolish, and beautiful combinations of natural 
colors can be made, which makes the handsomest furniture we ever saw. A 
specimen manufactured of the different kinds proves this. Col. Loughborough 
had a department at the St. Louis Fair of all her products, which excelled that 
made by any State. These must be seen to be appreciated. 

OFF FOR HOT SPRINGS. 

At the close of the Little Rock banquet we boarded the train for the south 
part 6f the State, intending to stop at Hot Springs, which are among the 
wonders of the American continent. On awaking the next morning we found 
our train 

AT MALVERN, 

a new railroad town 40 miles south of Little Eock. Here we partook of a splen- 
did breakfast provided at the two hotels. The village is inhabited by a wide- 
awake people. Here we found a narrow-gauge railroad being constructed to 
the springs. We rode out on this about eight miles in platform cars with board 
seats. The country about Malvern is heavily timbered and desirable. The 
grade of the road is almost finished to Hot Springs, which is some 30 miles 
northeast of Malvern. It is expected this road will be running trains by the 
first of December. At the end of the track we found the reception committee 
from Hot Springs with Concord stages, hacks, carriages, wagons, etc., and a 
complete outfit of marshals and aids, to convey us to the springs. The ride 
was a hard and dusty one. It was unpossible to make any speed, because the 
road was a constant succession of rough, stony hills of considerable height. It 
was the roughest staging we had ever experienced. 

The hea^dest timber we s%w in the State was along this road. The majority 
of the trees were magnificent pines, but there were a great number of large, 
straight white oaks, which naturally called forth the admiration of one who has 
spent 18 years on the prairies. There were frequent small valleys, and in these 
were rich farms. We saw several fields of corn along this road which were 
nearly as good as our Neosho valley fields. We judge that 50 to 60 bushels 
ppr acre will be the yield here. There were some orcliards, but the fruit we 



KANSAS CORKESPONDENCE. 267 

saw here was small: Late peaches were abundant. The houses were those so 
common in the South, a double-cabin with a large porch or opening in the 
middle. The few cattle seen were small, and the hogs were all of the regular 
Arkansas pattern. The farming was generally very slouchy, and the places 
were grown to weeds and underbrush, and the prospect was not verj^ inviting. 
We passed one school-house ; it was built of logs, with no ' ' chinking "or 
filling between them. Along the walls were arranged the high and rough desks 
for writing which were in vogue in Ohio 30 years ago. The observer can come 
to but one conclusion as to the needs of this country, and that is that it wants 
to get rid of the population which permits such a state of things, and have it 
peopled by hve and enterprising inhabitants. It would be too tedious an opera- 
tion to educate these people up to the progress of the present day. The land 
is cheap, and with the advent of railroads and the restoration of peace and 
toleration, the " Ai'kansas Traveler" will give way before a better race of 
people. About two o'clock we entered the town of 

HOT SPRINGS. 

This place surprised us in two respects. It is a larger and much liveher city 
than we had expected to see. Until within a few years it was httle known. 
We confess we were not prepared to see street cars and a large and lively daily 
paper. If we had read of these we had forgotten them. The town is stretched 
along a narrow valley, and is about two miles long. The street is a wide one, 
and there is just room for rows of buildings on either side, before the moun- 
tains are reached. A few houses are built up on the sides of the hills. These 
mountains reach a height of several hundred feet. Owing to a dispute between 
the Government and some private parties as to the title to the land on which the 
city is built, no very permanent improvements have been made. The houses 
are nearly all inferior frame buildings. There are a few ^ood ones. The 
Arlington House is a large building, conveniently arranged, and is in every way 
a first-class hotel. There are two or three other good hotels in the place, while 
the smaller kind of taverns and boarding-houses are almost innumerable. We 
should say about two-thirds of the buildings had out signs, where strangers 
could be accommodated in various styles of life. The richer invalids, of 
course, inhabit the large hotels. Some, who go there to stay some length of 
time, erect or rent board shanties. Most of the cheaper buildings are simply 
set up on blocks, without wall foundation or ' ' under-pinning, ' ' and are boarded 
up and down. 

There are paths leading up the mountains from the street and rear of the 
buildings, and it is not a very difficult task to ascend. There are 57 of these 
hot springs located on the mountain side east of the town. They are the most 
wonderful curiosity we have ever seen. They are of various sizes, and the 
water from all of them is so hot that one unused to it can scarcely hold a finger 
in it any length of time. Small houses are built over some of these springs and 
pools are dug out large enough to admit the bodies of two are three persons at 



268 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

ouce. At one of these we saw a white and colored man lying- together bathing. 
At another there were two men with pants rolled up above their knees sitting 
with their feet in the water and throwing it upon their limbs with their hands, 
while outside the door laid an almost helpless woman, sorely afflicted. Some 
invalids have rude cabins near the springs and stay there. The large hotels and 
some of the better residences and boarding-houses have bathing-houses attached, 
and the water is brought down the mountain side to these by means of pipes 
and wooden troughs. Most of these springs have names, some of which are 
curious and significant. One of the lai-gest flows out from under the rocks near 
the Arlington hotel, and i; called the "Arsenic" spring — ^why, we did not learn. 
There is almost a constant stream of invalids to this spring, because it is one of 
the handiest to get at, who drink its water by the quart every day. They come 
with small tin pails and carry it away to those who are not able to walk to it. 
There is something so disagreeable about the very thought of drinking hot water 
that it was with difficulty we could bring our courage to the point of tasting it, 
but on doing so the sensation was rather agreeable than otherwise. Those who 
are used to it drink it with a relish. The effect is both pleasant and beneficial. 
Wonderful cures of certain diseases are made by bathing in and drinking this 
water. There are at all times several thousand invalids ^'isiting these springs, 
and their fame is not confined to America. Our stage driver informed us he had 
carried over persons this season from different parts of Europe, who had crossed 
the ocean to test its qualities. He told us also that he had carried persons from 
Malvern who were hardly able to stand the stage ride, the roughness of which 
had caused them to scream out with pain often, and had carried them back in a 
few months new beings, thanking everybody they met, and rejoicing that they 
had found the Jordan which had removed the terrible diseases with which they 
were afflicted, like Naaman of old. 

Hot Springs has a live daily paper, the Telegraphy many fine business estab- 
lishments, street cars, a park, and many other of the accompaniments of a 
young city. Its permanent population, as near as we could ascertain, is from 
5,000 to 6,000. It is hoped by all that the title to the land will be found to 
belong to the Government, and that measures will be taken to prevent a monop- 
oly of the springs, .as it will undoubtedly become if left in the hands of private 
individuals. Even now the rentals of the ground form a munificent income. 
That a large city is to be built here there is not a doubt. It will soon have rail- 
road connection, through the enterprise of a Chicago man, who is building the 
narrow-gauge road, and will become the great rendezvous of the unfortunate 
from all oyer the world. 

The excursionists were extended a fine banquet and ball by the citizens, 
which all enjoyed who attended. There were good speeches, fine ladies, and 
something to cheer the pleasure-seeking "pencil-shovers," and the hospitality 
of the Springs people was unbounded. Of course our visit there was one long 
to be remembered. It would take more room than we can spare to tell all we 
would like to about this town and its curiosities, and to thank its people prop- 
erly for their kindness. 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 268 



A RUNAWAY. 



At an early hour next morning we took the stages to return to Malvern. In 
going down a rough hill the brake on our coach gave way, precipitating the 
heavily loaded vehicle on the horses with more power than they liked, and so we 
had a runaway. It was an ugly place for such a performance, and we were iii 
much danger of injury, but the driver kept a cool head, and at the proper place 
ran the team into a high rail fence, which killed one of his horses almost 
instantly. Fortunately not' one of the dozen persons on the coach were injured. 

AT ARKADELPHIA. 

Arriving at Malvern we again took our places in the cars to accept the invita- 
tion of the good people of Arkadelphia to attend and partake of a regular 
old-fashioned barbecue. This place is about 40 miles south of Malvern. The 
accident above related and other circumstances had detained us about three 
hours, so that the people of Arkadelphia were not only disappointed, but their 
dinner had lost something by reason of becoming cold. We moved through 
this town to a fine pine grove where the long tables were set loaded with the 
good things. We guess the excursionists convinced the good people of that 
town that' they know their duty when called upon to eat free dinners. There 
were some handsome ladies present, and we were glad to notice that some of 
our young quill-drivers had brought along a good supply of gallantry. Our 
young friend Robinson, of the Fort Wayne (Ind. ) Gazette^ did the agreeable. 
Arkadelphia is a town of about 2,500 people, who seem to be fully awake to the 
importance of getting in some people to help develop her resources. Though 
the town has some old tumble-down and dilapidated buildings, it has many that 
are a credit to it. It is located near the Ouachita river, and is said to be the 
center of a fine agricultui'al region. We saw here as good corn as at any point 
on the route, and the cotton was extra. Very fine fruits of all kinds are raised 
here. The apples raised are perfect. The boasting engaged in at this town 
about everything made us think that we were in a regular Kansas city. 

After eating we ran a few miles south to take a look at the cotton-fields, and 
see the hands gathering in the snowy product. Returning to the depot, a 
couple of hours were spent in speech-making. We have not time to notice 
these. Those made by Arkansans overflowed with expressions of hospitality, 
fraternity, and love for the old Union. The editor of the Arkadelphia paper, 
whose name we have forgotten, welcomed the excursionists. We liked out- 
treatment here, and also the looks of the town and country, but we were more 
than pleased with the expressions of friendly feeling for the North, and for the 
whole country. 

A DISAPPOINTMENT. 

All were disappointed at the announcement that this was the end of our jour- 
ney southward. It was the original intention to go on to Texarkana, on the 
fine between Arkansas and Texas. All were anxious to see the famous Red 



270 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

River country, and the people at different points further on had prepared 
receptions for the editors. 

BACK TO LITTLE BOCK. 

In the morning, on awaking, we found ourselves on the track at Little Rock. 
Col. Loughborough had, with his characteristic large-heartedness and fore- 
thought, caused a fine breakfast to be prepared at the railroad eating-house. 
After this the excursionists, thinking it but right and proper to give formal 
expression to their feelings in regard to the State and the 

MAGNIFICENT MANNER 

in which they had everywhere been treated by both the officers of the road and 
the people, held a meeting and adopted appropriate resolutions. 

OTHER EXCURSIONS. 

"We found at Little Rock invitations to spend a day on the Memphis & Little 
Rock and Little Rock & Fort Smith roads. As there was not time for one 
train to make both runs, it was divided, the members choosing for themselves 
which direction they would go. The crowd di\dded about equally, a portion 
going toward Memphis and the balance toward Fort Smith. We took the latter 
train, and are not sorry we did so, as we had a splendid ride uip the Arkansas 
valley, the road running near the river and through a rich country. Our train 
was under the charge of T. Hartman, superintendent, and was accompanied by 
Land Commissioner W. D. Slack. Both these gentlemen were untiring in their 
efforts for the comfort of their guests, and in imparting all information sought. 
They are well posted, unassuming, abd are thorough railroaders. A splendid 
lunch was prepared in an express car, which was devoured with a relish. Col. 
Pierce, a generous-hearted and intelligent gentleman from Little Rock, was 
with us on this trip, as well as the one south. The Little Rock & Fort Smith 
road is now finished to within 48 miles of the latter place, and will be pushed 
through this winter. It is the intention to finally connect with the M. , K. «& T. 
road at Fort Gibson. When it does, this part of Kansas will have direct com- 
munication with the pine and coal regions of Ai-kansas. 

The principal towns on this trip were Lewisburg, Russellville and Clarksville. 
At the first named place the train stopped a few minutes, and the excursionists 
were entertained by a short speech from William C. Stout, whom they called 
out, who is editor of the weekly State, printed here. The main town is back 
from the road, and contains a population of 1,000. The surrounding country 
is beautiful and rich. In fact, it has one of the best-looking localities we saw in 
Arkansas. Quite a number of ladies and gentlemen were gathered on the 
platform, and there were present a fine display of the products of the soil. 
Some belleflower apples here were as large, sound and beautiful as we ever saw. 
We brought away a specimen of Tappahannock wheat which yielded 25 bushels 
per acre and weighed 62 pounds to the bushel. The grain is large and of a 
splendid color. The people here seemed to be very happy and contented, and 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 271 

above average intelligence. ClarksA^lle is one of the historic towns of the 
State. There have been many deeds of violence here. We stopped long enough 
to take a look at the town. It contains about 2,000 population. It has two 
splendid mills. Many of the houses are small. A court-house square stands in 
the centre, with not much to brag of in the way of a building. The business 
part of the town surrounds this square. From here we went west to the 
immense Spadra coal mines. These were worked to a small extent thirty yeara 
ago. The present company have just commenced taking out coal, having 
rigged complete machinery for that purpose. The vein is from four to five feet 
thick, and the quality the best that is found in the country lying west of the 
IVIississippi. There are other coal mines on the road. The road passes through 
the heart of a coal country 1,200 square miles in extent. It has 1,000,000 acres 
of the finest lands in the Arkansas valley, which were granted in 1853, and have 
been reserved ever since. Much of this land is in the best improved sections 
of the valley, and is offered cheap and on long time. On the return we ate a 
grand supper at Russellville, prepared on the order of the offlcei-s of the road. 
Here our friend Piei'ce delivered a shoi't after-supper speech, and moved a vote 
of thanks to Messrs. Slack and Hartman, and all concerned, for the ride, and to 
the people along the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad for the generous treat- 
ment and reception everywhere given the editors, which motion was carried 
unanimously and with a vim. 

At 10 o'clock Saturday night we arrived at the Little Rock depot, to find that 
our friends who had taken the east portion of the excursion were three hours 
late. This was occasioned by the extra good time they had and by the large 
number of points of interest they had to visit. 

We left Little Rock about one a. m. Sunday morning for the return to St. 
Louis. The excursionists were pretty well tired out with riding, banqueting, 
sight-seeing, etc. , and quietly dozed or put in the time reading. Leaving Little 
Rock in the night gave us an opportunity of seeing by daylight that portion of 
Missouri passed in the night going down. 

We took dinner at Arcadia, after which a banner made of native cotton was 
presented to the excursionists by the people of Hope — a live new town further 
south than our trip extended — through Col. Loughborough. A neat and appro- 
priate response was made by Capt. Cole, of the Huntington (Ind. ) Journal. 
Before separating here 

THREE ROUSING CHEERS FOR LOUGHBOROUGH 

were given, when " all aboard " was sounded and we were off for St. Louis. 
Soon after we had a fine view of the famous Iron Mountains and of Pilot Knob 
battle-field. All know the wealth of this region in iron ore, and a description is 
unnecessary. 

We reached St. Louis after seven o'clock, when the excursionists separated 
for their various homes in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, 
Ohio and Pennsylvania. 



272 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

There was but one impression among the excursionists, and that was that the 
trip had been one of the most agreeable and profitable ever taken by them. 
They learned much of Arkansas which will be of value to them in the future. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Even though this article is long, but a hasty glance could be given at the 
country and its resources. It would take twice the room we have occupied to do 
even justice to the State. "We confess our mind has undergone a great change 
in regard to Arkansas. Little has been said about it until lately, and we thought 
it a poor, barren and half-heathenish country. Our opinions of it have not 
changed simply' because we were invited to a free ride. Excursions are plenty 
and cheap. We went with a sincere desire to see and learn. We give the result 
candidl}', and if anybody in the State or out of it shall be benefited thereby We 
are glad. The worst side of Arkansas has been out. There is still quite a large 
element of the lank, cadaverous ruffian in the State, but it is rapidly taking a 
"backseat," and that it has a glorious future we have no doubt. That there 
are large fortunes to be made there we have no doubt. A State with all its 
wealth of timber — fifteen milhons of acres — with its 3,500 miles of navigable 
streams ; with its thousands of acres of coal-fields ; with its wonderful springs ; 
with its fertile soil ; with its iron, zinc and lead ore ; with its water-power ; and 
perhaps better than all, with its temperate and healthy climate, cannot help but 
become great. 

We talked with and mixed with all kinds of people, and made extensive 
inquiry into the situation of affairs. Mr. Farquhar, of whom we spoke in this 
article before, gave us much information, and we know him to be an honest and 
trustworthy man. We talked with white and .colored men of both parties. 
That Arkansas has been literally and unmercifully robbed by a "ring" since 
the war, there is not a shadow of doubt. We regret to say that we are forced 
to the conclusion that most of this was done in the name of Republicanism. 
Little^ Rock alone was robbed of $300,000, and now has nothing to show for it. 
Both sides now admit previous wrongs, and both seem determined to unite in 
restoring the State and in developing her resources. The speeches everywhere, 
by Democrats, ex-rebels and all, teemed with loyal expressions, urging good- 
fellowship, and we have no doubt of their sincerity. In the new Constitution 
ample provision is made for the payment of old debts, while future extravagance 
is sufficiently guarded against, and liberal provision is made for schools. The 
State is now as quiet as any other, and we believe a man is as safe there as 
anywhere. The negroes are treated well, and we learned that there are several 
of theni holding office at Little Rock and elsewhere under Democratic rule. A 
colored man told us that his people had found out that "the ring," as it is 
universally called there, had only been using them as a foot-ball, and that the^^ 
were as well treated under the present Democratic rule as they were before. 
The colored men are about equally divided between the two parties. The Bax- 
ter and Brooks trouble grew out of the ambitious schemes of the ring which was 
endeavoring to rob Arkansas of eveiything, more than out of politics. Brooks 



KANSAS CORRESPONDENCE. 27S 

was undoubtedly honestly elected Governor, but " the ring" figured Baxter into 
the office because they thought they could use him for some of their gigantic rail- 
road and other frauds. When they found they could not do so, but that he was 
honest, and opposed to them, they got up the Brooks trouble. This is the mat- 
ter in a nut-shell. The present Governor is very popular, and is respected and 
upheld by all. Of course the State is under Democratic rule. Some seem to 
think this is the cause of the present peace and quiet. We believe it is because 
the people of the State rule, and we trust they will be allowed to regulate their 
own afi'airs, no matter what party is in power, so long, as they are in harmonj^ 
with the constitution of the country. This is the true Republican doctrine. 
Ai'kansas will never again submit to the ' ' rule and ruin ' ' of such a set of scal- 
awags and thieves as she has been cursed with since the war, and the people 
would be poltroons and unworthy to be called American citizens if they did. 
Altogether, Ai'kansas was raised 100 per cent, in our estimation by personal 
observation of her resources and contact with her people. Let her go on in the 
"new departure" she has started upon, and she will soon be one of the brightest 
of the thirty-nine stars on the American banner. 



18 



CHAPTER X.-MICHIGAN. 



FROM THE "DETROIT EVENING NEWS, 



DR. J. A. STINSON, Correspondent. 




IRKANSAS it will be recollected became a State in 1836 — the same year 
that Michigan did. Our own State having lapped over her twin sister 
something over a hundred per cent, in population, the intercourse be- 
tween the two States being very limited, your correspondent bethought himself 
to go down and find out 

SOMETHING ABOUT ARKANSAS 

and the causes of her backwardness. It is an old country, and j^et very new. 
The French first settled there in 1685, almost 200 years ago. They found it 
inhabited by a band of Indians, whose name was spelled Ar-kan-sa. The French 
could not get along without an S at the end of the name, so they tacked it on, 
and it has stuck ever since. The best authorities pronounce it Arka.n-saw, 
accent on last syllable. This is a State of no mean proportions — 242 miles 
long (north to south) by an average width of 200 miles, containing 33,500,000 
acres — it may be called 

A SMALL EMPIKE, 

but unfortunately it lacks one of the most important elements of an emj^ire, for 
in all that vast region there can scarce 600,000 souls be counted. There's "a 
great deal of land to the acre" down there, and consequently it is "dirt 
cheap." We never saw so many miles of unbroken forest, such an extent of 
uninhabited country before. And this seems so singular, as the land, at least 
the greater portion of it, is very fertile. The fertility is better understood when 
one remembers a few facts connected with 



THE GEOLOGY OF THE STATE. 



Ages ago, probably before the French settlement there, a large portion of 
Arkansas was the bottom of an ocean, the same that we now call the Atlantic. 



MICHIGAN CORRESPONDENCE. 275 

The city of Little Rock is built on a rise of ground, on the right bank of the 
Arkansas river, which ages ago was a low mud island near the ocean shore ; and 
Big Rock, a very high bluff on the left bank of the river, about two miles north- 
west of Little Rock, was a prominent headland on the then easterly shore of that 
ocean. At that time the Red, Arkansas, White, Mississippi and Ohio rivers 
emptied into this ocean by mouths hundreds of miles apart. During the lapse 
of centuries, while the waters of the ocean were receding, and the bottom of it 
was gradually rising, these rivers were depositing their accumulations of alluvium 
within a certain range from their mouths, much, we presume, as the Mississippi 
is now doing in the Gulf of Mexico. Gradually the land was thus made, until 
finally, by a rapid double process of sinking of the waters and rising of the ocean 
bottom, the land came above water level and. became dry ground. Thus it is 
that the soil of a good half of Ai'kansas is what geologists call " fluvio-marine," 
that is, soil made by the deposit of sediment from river and ocean. Hence the 
remarkable fertility of the soil. 

THE TIMBER 

which grows on this former ocean bottom is not, on an average, what a Michigan 
man would call very hea^y. There are certainly some sections where the pine, 
walnut, oak and cypress are very heavy — enormous in size — but the average of 
the timber is not heavy. Somebody is going to make money out of the timber 
of Arkansas. We ^eve^ saw such oak and walnut anywhere else. The varieties 
of timber are black, white and post oak, cottonwood, pecan, bois d'arc, ash, 
hickory, elm, yellow pine, sweet gum and cypress. Cypress is almost inde- 
structible by ordinary agencies, and combines the working and lasting qualities 
of pine and cedar. It is to the South what white pine is to the North. Almost 
all the kinds of timber named are in demand at New Orleans, whence it is 
shipped as ballast. Sweet gum, from its peculiar qualities, will soon be in 
demand for gun-stocks. The timber of any particular section will often pay 
for clearing the land from which it is cut. The cost of clearing runs from $5 to 
$10 per acre, counting the timber as nothing. Cleared land readily rents for 
from $4 to $10 per acre, according to location. 

THE RAILWAYS 

built and building are numerous, and are doing a splendid work for the develop- 
ment of the country. Villages and towns are rapidly springing up along their 
lines, all of which present the appearances peculiar to new places in a new 
country, but give evident signs of " snap " and thrift. Some of them, located 
where the railroads intersect rivers, possess the double advantage of water and 
rail transportation. 

THE RIVERS 

of this State are remarkable as affording more than 3,000 miles of internal 
navigation. Fifty of the 73 counties of the State are watered by na"\igable 
streams. Here is the list: Mississippi, St. Francis, White, Black, Arkansas, 
Ouachita, Red, Saline, and Bayou Bartholomew. 



276 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

THE CLIMATE, 

on the whole, is very fine — just what you might expect between the 33d and 
36th parallels. In the eastern and southeastern part of the State it is rather 
"mixed" with malaria, but as you go west and northwest it becomes one of- 
the finest on the continent. With the exception of two months in the summer, 
one could not wish for a more desirable climate ; and in summer, when the days 
are the hottest, the evenings and nights are delightfully cool. So, take it all in 
all, one can scarce find a more desirable country to live in so far as climate goes. 

THE MOUNTAINS 

are found in the northwest part of the State, Draw a line from the southwest 
to the northeast corner of the State, and you mark the boundary between the 
former ocean bottom and the older part of the country — between the plain and 
mountain lands — between the rich agricultural and the 

RICH MINERAL REGIONS. 

Few States combine such varied and wonderful resources. The minerals of 
Arkansas alone will eventually attract a large immigration, and lead to the 
investment of a great amount of capital. Zinc, copper, manganese, salt, lead, 
iron, coal and gypsum abound. The diflferent clays, as fire, pipe and potter's 
clay, and kaolin, are of the best quality and plentiful. • 

Between the State-line and Little Rock we passed 

NUMEROUS RAILROAD STATIONS, 

twenty in all, an average of one to every eight miles. Not bad, is it, for a rail- 
road only completed three years ago? It speaks well for the accommodating 
spirit of the railroad oflacials, and for the business of the road. All these 
stations gave evident signs of prosperity and enterprise. The population of 
them ranged from 300 up to 2,000. In passing we must mention one in partic- 
ular, called 

JUDSONIA, 

named after a Baptist missionary, Judson. It is a thriving Baptist colony, with 
60 well educated and well-to-do Indiana and lUinois families, and the location 
of " Judson University," with a large and very efficient staff of Professors, and 
a class of 500 students. It is well endowed by private donation of lands, is in 
affiliation with Northern Universities, aud will receive a share of the Peabody 
fund next year. There are 35,000 white Baptists in Arkansas. About the 
middle of a lovely autumn afternoon we 

ARRIVED AT LITTLE ROCK. 

There was "music by the band," and immense cheering, and "general hand- 
shaking' ' with the ' ' big crowd' ' which had gathered at the station from the city 
and countrv to give us 



MICHIGAN CORRESPONDENCE. 277 



A HEARTY SOUTHERN WELCOME. 

The generous hosts with whom we were billeted quickly sought us out, and 
after dinner " toted" us about to see the sights until it was time to put in an 
appearance at 

THE RECEPTION BANQUET. 

This was given by the citizens of Little Rock in honor of ' ' their distinguished 
guests." Senators, Representatives (of the people and of the press). Judges, 
Generals, Colonels, lawyers, railway magnates, Ex-Governors, f)lanters, mer- 
chants, manufacturers, commissioners of various trusts, and representatives at 
large of the wealth, learning, culture and enterprise of the whole State, were 
there — each to contribute his share toward making it a memorable affair. 
Speech-maki-ng seems to be a characteristic of Western men. Everybody seems 
willing and able to make a speech. Those made at this banquet were above the 
average of "after-dinner eloquence." Those who made them were much "in 
earnest. They Spoke with a purpose — to assure their visitors of a hearty South- 
ern welcome, and of the magnificent advantages which their Sta-te offers to all 
who want happy homes — -to disabuse the minds of their Northern brethren with 
regard to a prevalent idea that immigrants from the North are not welcome in 
that State, and much more that we have not time to note. Some of the speeches 
were learned, some were eloquent, some humorous. Sunset Cox ought to have 
delayed his Harper article on American humor until after he had heard the 
speeches of Pomeroy of Little Rock, and Prentis of Topeka, at this banquet. 
By the time these men got the floor a good many ' ' outsiders' ' had dropped in, 
and one of them was overheard saying to his fellows, as they left the building, 
" You bet, those fellers are right smart talkers. They made me la-a-a-f till I 
had a big kink in my runnet. ' ' There was one feature of this occasion which 
exactly resembled the way such things are done in the North — "no colored 
persons admitted." By way of comment on this — never mind, we'll let it go. 
We shall never forget that banquet — we'll back it against any other, banquet 
that was ever given in the Mississippi valley for speech-making eloquence, 
humor, pathos and bathos, welcome, good-fellowship, Scuppernong and fun. We 
don't exaggerate at all when we say it laid out all the banquets ever given in 
that State, besides some other men. It will never be successfully reported, 
because, after such a dinner, the average reporter is so full he can't report worth 
a cent. 

In company with a large party of excursionists we did 

LITTLE ROCK. 

This is a beautiful city (the only one in the State) occupying an excellent site, 
50 feet above the river. The streets are wide, half named and half numbered, 
like Philadelphia, and run at right angles to and end parallel with the river. 
The dwellings are all constructed with a view to comfort in hot weather — most of 
them have the chimneys outside of the building ; all of them have spacious 



278 THE NEW "ARKANSAS TRAVELEKS. 

yerandas, halls and rooms. Land is not so much per foot in that city as in 
Detroit, and people ' ' spread themselves ' ' both in size of lots and houses. 
Once in a while you see a brick-house with a mansard slate roof, Northern 
fashion, but such dwellings don't seem to be "indigenous to the soil." The 
people display great taste in the cultivation of shrubbery and flowers. The 
State House don't amount to much — looks old and dilapitated — shouldn't 
wonder if they built a new one soon, in a better place. This is right down on 
the river bank. The new one ought to occupy a more commanding position. 

When they quit fighting, 3,000, big folks and little, were all Little Rock 
could muster. . Now they turn out ' ' twenty thousand strong, ' ' half of them 
colored. (Perhaps that is why they're so " strong." This is " no joke " — you 
needn't print it.) Seventeen thousand is pretty good growth in so few j^ears. 
They need manufactures now, very much. As it is the great railroad centre of 
the State, centrally located, healthy, and has many enterprising citizens, it is 
bound to be a big city. Strangers should visit the State House, the levee, the 
arsenal, National and Confederate cemeteries, the exposition of the products of 
Arkansas, at the Chamber of Commerce, the agricultural show at the Fort Smith 
Railroad land office, the collection of minerals at the Iron Mountain depot, and, 
at certain seasons, the vineyards and cotton plantations near the city. If they 
don't learn something, and get a fair idea of Arkansas in general and Little 
Rock in particular, before they get through wdth that list, it will be because they 
lack " capacity." After they get through with Little Rock they must not fail to 

GO TO HOT SPRINGS. 

What ! Never heard of Hot Springs ! Why, Hot Springs is the prettiest 
and ugliest, the richest and poorest, the nicest and meanest, the wettest and 
dryest, the hottest and coolest, the best and worst place in Arkansas. They 
did their best to hide it away bej^ond the most infernal hills a stage ever went 
over, in a little valley just on the southeast edge of the Ozarks, but it steamed 
so it could not be hid. The Indians found it a good while ago, and "white 
folks" have been going there ever since; something like 3,000 of them stay 
there. It's an awful place — close to the gates of hell — that's where the water 
is heated which bursts out through the rocks 50 feet up the mountain side. 
That water is wonderful — - a little cooler than the place it comes from, but not 
much. It will cook an egg or cure leprosy, that is, 

THE KIND DR. GROSS THINKS JOB HAD. 

(It wasn't kind of the doctor to tell on Job ; shouldn't wonder if Job went for 
him if thiey ever meet. ) There's no mistake about the curing powers of Hot 
Springs water, any more than there is in its cooking powers. About 150 of 
us went there together. Barnum's cortege couldn't make " a show" compared 
with our procession of stages, hacks, buggies, " Arkansaw prairie sailers" and 
horsemen, as, pounded to a' jelly, covered with dust, and racked with rheuma- 
tism and neuralgia, besides not feeling well, we wound our way through the sin- 
gle street of this refuge of invahds. But in less than twenty-four hours we 



MICHIGAN CORRP^SPONDENCE. 279 

were a;ll " cured" and had " lit out." It was. this wa}-. Eight minutes in a hot 
bath, at somewhere near 100 Fahrenheit, they ain't particular to a degree or 
two down there ; three minutes in a hot vapor bath, some hotter than the first 
(thought we shouldn't see Detroit any more) ; 10 minutes wrapped up in blan- 
kets, and just running away in streams of perspiration ; and all this time drink- 
ing one gallon of hot water from the arsenic spring, as hot as it could possibly 
be swallowed. The whole party were anxious about each other, lest there 
shouldn't be enough left of any one to get out of the bath. 

Sable attendants took advantage of our weakness to nearty "rub us out" 
with rough towels. AdAdce to strangers : When you get so bad you liave to go 
to Hot Springs, don't let them put you through " the whole course of sprouts" 
at once. Advice to the sick, gratis : If you have rheumatism, gout, scrofula, 
paralysis, catarrh, kidney or bladder disease, skin disease, 'sick headache, steril- 
ity, certain forms of womb disease, or — or — the kind of leprosy they say Job 
had, go to the Hot Springs and you will be cured. Plenty of people have gone 
there worse than Job was, enough sight, and went home " sound as a dollar." 
What does the .place look like? Oh, just as though some giant, in bygone 
days, had 

SPLIT THE MOUNTAINS OPEN 

about two rods wide and three miles long, and then picked up some big hotels, 
some stores, some cheap boarding-houses, some bathing-houses, some good 
dwellings and some" cheap cottages, and threw them, as well as he could, into 
the bottom of the split. He seemed to think there was room for a creek and a 
horse railroad, so he threw them in, too. By that time he saw there -Wouldn't 
be room for sidewalks, so he left them out. The buildings, being all wooden, 
. were somewhat the worse of the throw. Looking north from the lower end of the 
valley, one has all the hot springs on the right-hand side of the valley, and all the 
cold springs on the left. There are alum, arsenic andiron springs — in all 57 
— hot. Fortunately the United States Government owns the whole place, so the 
waters are free to all. It doesn't cost much to go there, and one can live there 
cheaply. It is not a fashionable watering place, but a place where genuine 
medicinal waters genuinely cure genuine diseases. Thirty thousand people 
say so every year. In Arkansas, as in most other dualized countries, they are 
troubled with 

POLITICS, 

and have had 'em bad, too, sometimes ; but, like the public health, they are "im- 
proving." In that Brooks-Baxter fuss " one was afraid and the other dasen't." 
Both sides showed wonderful respect for "a corporal's guard" of United States 
soldiers. The trouble was settled by a quiet suggestion to ' ' whack up and 
divide."' At the last election, many Republicans, disgusted with the corruptions 
of some of their partisans, voted for honest Democrats. The result is a govern- 
ment Democratic in name and patronage, with a Republican policy, and one 
generally satisfactory to the citizens. Late legislation has been sound and 
progressive. During the war a troop of cavalry, up among the Ozarks, was 



280 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

camping for the night, after a hard clay's march in a storm of sleet and snow. 
Standing around a lot of soggy logs, which could only be made to smoke, for a 
camp-fire, one of the boys spoke up: "Look here, boys! I've enlisted for 
the war. I can stand this sort of thing for fifteen, twenty -five or forty years, 
but I want it distinctly understood that this is the last Union I'm going to try 
to bust. ' ' 

That's the unanimous sentiment now. Reconstruction is a fixed fact. Remain- 
ning difierences will be easily settled by legislation. Nobody wants any more 
fighting. Civil war doesn't usually improve the condition of society; but it 
brought changes that were beneficial to Arkansas. She has taken ' ' a new 
departure" in some manners and customs. The traditional "tooth-pick" is a 
thing of the past, and revolvers don't revolve as they used to. The law against 
carrying these ' ' carnal weapons ' ' is strictly enforced. • Speak your mind ; 
express your opinioais freely. Nobody will molest you. 

PERSON AND PROPERTY ARE SAFE, 

quite as much so as in Detroit or any other American city of the same size. In 
a recent visit we saw very little di'unkenness. Big hearts and generous conduct 
characterize this people. They have no six months of winter to fight, and know 
nothing about being "close" or "economical." The "latch-string" always 
hangs out. Like " Ole Yirginny," Arkansas "never tires" of entertaining 
strangers. 

THE COLORED POPULATION 

haven't got used to the situation. Their sympathies are- with the Republicans, 
and their interests very often with the Democrats. They've got a vote, but are 
not " right sure" how to use it. They are like a child with a razor. Politicians 
don't always care whether they cut themselves or not. Generally, 

THEY PAY WELL, AND WORK WELL, 

especially for themselves. By disposition they are orderly and quiet. Their 
Sabbath congregations are large and well dressed. Sunday clothes last them a 
long time. Builders, furniture men and dry goods men cannot do business 
among them and live by it. Their houses are not houses — ^mostly shells. Their 
clothes, week-da.ys, are shabby. They look " shiftless." See them at work, in 
their homes, hauling stuff to market, an3rwhere but in church, and there is 
a tumble-down look about the whole outfit that disgusts you. Their colored 
brethren of the North are far ahead of them in snap and appearance. But don't 
they leajn! Astonishing the progress they make In study. Come to school- 
ing, they mean business. Their schools are said to be the best attended in the 
State. In its 

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION 

the lion's share falls to one city, several towns and manj'- villages. The farming 
population is very sparse. Angels' visits could hardly be further apart and 
fewer than Arkansas farm-houses. We ti-avpled many miles in some of t]ie 



MICHIGAN CORRESPONDENCE. 281 

finest parts of the State without seeing a soul. Exceptions to the rule occur on 
Crowley's Ridge and on the Arkansas river bottoms. The colored people 
number but one-quarter of the entire population, and are congregated mostly in 
a few rich fertile counties. As might be expected, 

CHURCHES AND SCHOOL-HOUSES 

are not close together. In the "centers" there are enough to meet present 
wants ; in the farming districts they are few. Except in places of good size, 
the buUdings are very poor. There is great room for improvement in this par- 
ticular. It doesn't pay for any community to build a mean-looking church or 
school-house. Here are a few items of interest about 

THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

The last assessment of property in the State was $85,000,000 ; new constitu- 
tion school-fund tax (two mills on the dollar) yields $175,000 ; capitation tax on 
all males over 21 years, $110,000 annually. Each school district can also vote 
five mills on the dollar of its own assessments. The present Legislature asks 
the United States Government for all " government laws" for school purposes. 
The State Constitution says " It is obligatory on the Legislature to provide 

FREE SCHOOLS 

for all persons in the State between the ages of six and 21 years," There is no 
discount on that arrangement. There will be no attempt to defraud colored 
children of their right to schooling. Governor, Legislature, press and people 
are all determined on ' ' fair play' ' in this vital matter. The school items were 
furnished us during 

AN INTERVIEW WITH GOVERNOR GARLAND. 

The St^te ha^'ing been much misrepresented in this matter, he was desirous 
we should be in possession of the facts. The Governor is a gentleman of com- 
manding presence and engaging address. His features indicate great decision, 
firmness and force of character. His political comdctions are decided, and in 
his willingness ' ' to accept the responsibility' ' he resembles Andrew Jackson. 
Yet he is no partisan. He was the choice of the best men of both parties. 

MANUFACTURES 

pay well in this State. They are principally confined to indispensables, such as 
leather, lumber, meal and flour. The net profit on manufacturing capital in 
1860 was 80 per cent. Good enough. The civil war stimulated manufactures. 
Capital is much needed now, to build cotton mills, oil mills, rolling mills, fuini- 
ture and wooden- ware factories, woolen factories, smelting works, etc., and to 
open mines of various kinds, and build narrow-gauge railways. The general 

HEALTH 

of the country is very good. Certain districts are subject to malarial diseases 
of severe type. Planting the eucalyptus will make these sections healthy. In 



282 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

almost all the level country they have "chills and fever" (but no worse than 
Michigan has to-clay), and they deserve to have them. People who live on 
pork, coffee and hot corn-bread one thousand and ninety-five times in a year, as 
lots of Arkansas folks do, ought to shake. And such pork as they eat ! If 
they get "out o' hog-meat" the rifle is handy, and the hogs are "in the 
timber." But 

THEY NEVER SHOOT AN ARKANSAS HOG ENDWAYS. 

He is too thin. They always wait till he turns sideways. Too much coffee, 
whisky, pork, corn-bread, tobacco, and sleeping close to the ground ; too little 
tea, oatmeal, mutton, ft-uit, bathing, and sleeping in the second-story — that's 
what's the matter with more than half of the " shakers." 

ARKANSAS FARMING 

is slovenly, generally. If the soil didn't beat the Garden of Eden for fertility 
they might as well "hang up the shovel and the hoe," and " quit and call it half 
a day." They hitch a half-sized mule ahead of a " bull -tongue," and scratch 
the ground an inch and a half or two inches deep — and call that plowing. 
Manuring they know nothing about. Thousands of acres have produced cotton 
and corn for forty years past, without a spoonful of manure. " Manure, indeed ! 
it would make the ground too rich." Weeds are everywhere. They beat the 
farmers. The fencing is oak rail, and is first-class. 

THE SOIL PRODUCTS 

are very valuable and varied, comprising most of the northern and many of the 
southern crops. Cotton and corn, the very best, are excelled in quantity and 
quality by no other State ; wheat, barley, oats, as good as the best ; clover and 
timothy first-class, two to three crops, annuall}^ ; Eg3^3tian wheat, Hungarian 
grass, enormous production ; potatoes, yams, magolds, sugar beets, beat all ; 
apples, as fine as can be grown anywhere ; plums and cherries, superb ; pears, 
equal to Cahfornia in size and flavor ; peaches, beat the world for size and rich- 
ness ; grapes, yield very good, flavor the finest. If j-ou want a country that 
produces anjrthing more or better, get a through ticket for Paradise, you needn'^t 
go fooling around this world. There is very little first-class 

LIVE STOCK. 

in the State. Parties who introduce it will do the State a ser'sice and make 
money. Better breeds are wanted to make better beef, pork, mutton and wool. 
There are plenty of asses in the State, but they need more mules. They stand 
the work better than horses, and cost less to keep. It ought to cost less to 
raise them at home than to import them. 

The State does her best for railroads by making 

LARGE RAILROAD LAND GRANTS, 

and as these are constantly in the market, together with many thousands of 
acres offered by different real estate agents, the additional inducement of very 



MICHIGAN CORRESPONDENCE. 283 

cheap land is offered to all who think they can do better by going there. As a 
rule, it is better to sticlx, — but it's nice to have a good place to stick on. Arkansas 
is rich in possibilities and resources, but poor in men and means to develop 
them. She needs colonies of workers. Slavery, with its shiftlessness, waste 
and chronic debt, is "dead gone" — killed in a fight. Nobody is sorr3^ Peace 
and prosperity are twins, and were born the same (\.^y slavery died. Their 
home is in Arkansas. " Long may they reign o'er land and main !" 



From the "PENINSULAR COURIER," ANN ARBOR. 



E. A. BEAL, Editor, 



We returned home on onday last from a delightful two weeks' trip to St, 
Louis and the South. Of the many things we saw, and of the many different 
places we visited, it would require too much space to tell. It is a good thing to 
leave business occasionally, and go off on a trip. We return feeling refreshed 
in spirits and recuperated in health, and can engage again in business with a 
clearer mind, ci'enewed physical vigor, and greater satisfaction. 

Leaving Ann Arbor on Monday, the 27th of September, we arrived in Chicago 
in the evening. We remained but an hour in Chicago, and taking the nine p. m. 
train of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, we were rapidly transported 
to St. Louis. This road is widely and favorably knowli, and needs no word 
from us. It is perfection itself. One feature — the ' ' palace hotel car, ' ' which 
was attached at Alton — is particularly pleasing, and the meal that is set before 
the traveler is par excellence. Nine o'clock of Tuesday found us in the rival of 
Chicago. The "village" — as Chicagoans persist in calling St. Louis — is spread 
over a good deal of ground. The Lindell Hotel, a first-class caravansar}^, and 
the largest in the city, was our stopping-place. The day was agreeably spent 
in riding about the city and surrounding countrj^, and visiting places of interest. 
The beautiful gardens of Henry Shaw, Esq., who resides three miles from the 
limits of the city, which we visited, deserve a special notice. Mr. Shaw owns 
1,000 acres of land, twenty of which are sm-rounded by a wall. Inside the wall 
is one of the most beautiful spots it has been our lot to gaze upon. All the 
magnificent flowers and rare plants it is possible to procure are here collected. 
Words are inadequate to describe this magnificent garden. Mr. Shaw was born 
in SheflEield, England, in 1800. He took up his abode in St. Louis, a poor boy, 
without a friend. Twentj^-five years ago he retired, a successful hai'dware 
merchant, and commenced work on this garden. Years of labor, and money 
lavishly spent, have made it one of the most wonderful places in the world. 



:284 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS.^ . 

Five years since he gave to St. Louis 500 acres of land for a public park, and 
he has bequeathed to the city, at his death, all his lands, and gives $25,000 a 
year to keep the grounds in order. Last winter he was very ill, and feared he 
would not recover, but was not in the least disturbed. He has built his own 
mausoleum near his residence, and over his remains after death will stand a 
huge granite monument. He is now 75 years of age, and looks as though he 
might enjoy good health for twenty years to come ; and who does not wish to see 
such a public benefactor live to a good old age ? As for us, when we took him 
by the hand, we did it with a feeling of reverence that we seldom feel in the 
presence of man. His grounds and residence are open to visitors, and forty 
men are kept constantly employed by him 

The reason of our visiting St. Louis was in part having accepted the invita,- 
tion of Hon. J. M. Lou.ghborough, Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain & Southern Railroad, and T. B. Mills & Co., real estate agents, of 
Little Rock, Arkansas, to make a tour of the State of Arkansas. Nine o'clock 
Tuesday evening, the 28th of September, our party, consisting of about 100 
persons, editors of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin, 
departed from the city in a train made up of three Pullman' cars, one passenger 
coach, smoking and baggage car. The night passed quickly and pleasantly, 
and the morning found us well rested, and with an appetite to enjoy the excel- 
lent breakfast which was set before us at Walnut Ridge, the Company's eating- 
house. Two o'clock p. M. we arrived at the beautiful city of Little Rock, where 
we were welcomed by the citizens with music, the firing of cannon, and the 
waving of hats and handkerchiefs. After the accustomed hand-shaking, we 
were all provided with quarters at the houses of the leading citizens, as they 
insisted upon our going home with them, and would not take no for an answer. 
After dinner, ail were driven over the city, and into the fine surrounding coun- 
try, until it was time to assemble at the banquet which had been prepared for us 
by the citizens at Concordia Hall. The tables were spread with all the delicacies 
of the season. A band of 20 pieces, which discoursed excellent music, was 
present and enlivened the occasion. Toasts and speeches were made and a 
grand time had until late at night, or rather early in the morning, for it was 
after one o'clock when the party adjourned to the Pullman sleeping cars, and 
the morning found us at Malvern, 60 miles from Little Rock. Here we break- 
fasted and then visited the celebrated Hot Springs, 26 miles distant. Ten miles 
there was a narrow-gauge railroad, which is being built from Malvern to the 
Springs, and will be completed by January. The balance of the distance we 
went in carriages. 

A grand sight greeted us on our entrance to the one street on which are loca- 
ted all the hotels and places of business. The street is about two miles long, 
and on each side are mountains 600 to 800 feet in height. As we rode along we 
were greeted by the citizens in a most cordial manner. Hats were doffed, hand- 
kerchiefs waved, and loud-mouthed cannons spoke. The entire population seemed 
to be out. Dinner first, and afterward the Hot Springs were visited, 64 in num- 
ber, all on one side of the mountains, and 400 feet above the place. They are 



MICHIGAN CORRESPONDENCE. 285 

all within a radius of 10 acres, and each has a different temperature — from 
lukewarm to boiling. An egg can be boiled hard in four minutes in the latter. 
All kinds of conjectures are afloat as to the reason why these springs so materially 
differ in temperature, and why they are alone in the particular spot they are, 
with' pure cold water on all sides. The most ignorant know all about it, while 
the scientists are puzzled, and are astounded at the wonderful cures that have 
been and are daily being effected by their curative properties. Invalids come 
from all parts of the world to try the springs, and we predict that within two 
years from now, when the railroad is completed so it is easily accessible for 
invalids, it will be the Baden-Baden of America, and thousands will annually go 
there to recover their health ; and at no distant day a city will spring up on 
the hills above the. springs that will excel, if not eclipse, any city in the South. 

To give some idea of the numbers who now go regularly to the Springs, it is 
enough to say that over 200 horses are on the stage line from Malvern to the 
Springs. When we consider the great number of sick who cannot endure this 
ride of 26 miles by stage, and are deterred from going there, it is plain to see 
that when the raUroad is completed, a much greater number will visit them. 

A splendid banquet was given us at the largest hotel. Seventy-five ladies 
graced the occasion by their presence, and music and dancing kept us up till a 
late hour. 

Everything was done that could make our visit pleasant, and we would like 
to give the names of the hosts of warm friends whom we met at Hot Springs, 
Little Rock and other places, but refrain, for reasons well known .to journalists. 
We started on our return the next morning to Malvern, where we arrived seven 
hours after leaving the Springs, and took the cars for Arkadelphia, where we 
arrived at four o'clock . in the afternoon. A more hungry set of persons than 
we were on our arrival could not be found. All of us had been saving our 
appetites for the barbecue which the good people of Arkadelphia had prepared 
for us. The citizens met us at the depot in a body, and, with the Mayor at 
their head, marched us to a beautiful grove near the depot, where we found a 
long table loaded down with ox, deer, buffalo, lamb, etc., cooked in true bar- 
becue style. A pleasant time was here spent for an hour. The editor of the 
Arkadelphia paper, a good-natured, joUy fellow, about 60 years old, said he 
came to Arkadelphia 18 years ago ; had been married 20 years when he went 
there ; had no children, and had given up all hope of ever having any. When 
he and his wife first came to Arkadelphia they were very homesick, and wished 
themselves back North, but being too poor to return, were obliged to stay. At 
the end of the first year he suddenly found himself the father of two children, 
twins ; and there they stand, said he, and he introduced us to two as beautiful 
young ladies as we saw on the trip. He slapped us on the shoulder and 
exclaimed: " Now, what do you think of Arkansas?" and said everything 
else grew and prospered in the same way in that State. Said he : "I wouldn't 
take all the property in the North for those girls ! Tell any of your readers, 
when you get home, who are situated as I was when at the North, to come here 
at once if they wish to get rich." • 



286 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

We all shortly returned to the cars and made a run down the railroad of 
10 miles, towards Texas, and visited some cotton-fields, where negroes were 
picking. The yield was one bale to the acre, worth $60. At dark we returned 
to Arkadelphia, where two hours were spent in speech-making, after which all 
retired to their berths in the cars, feeling satisfied with the day's sight-seeing. 

We awakened the next morning in Little Rock. After breakfasting at the 
Company's eating-house our party divided to take a trip — some to go on the 
Fort Smith road, and others on the Little Rock and Memphis road. We chose 
the latter, as we wished to see the fine prairies of Arkansas. We went as far 
as Forrest City, where we were handsomely entertained by the people. The 
most of the party visited the large peach- orchards in the vicinity of the place. 
It was dark before we started to return, and as our train was "wild" — the train, 
not the passengers — we had to keep out of the way of other trains. Therefore, 
instead of running back to Little Rock to start out at nine o'clock, as we 
expected to do, we did not get there till two o'clock the next morning, which 
made our breakfast five hours later. We were in prime condition to do justice 
to the meal, which was had at one of the Company's eating-houses, and was as 
good a one as we had on the trip. At sis p. m. all of our party arrived at St. 
Louis, just five days absent, during which time a special train had been at our 
disposal, to go where we chose, and we were not permitted to pay for a single 
meal, or spend a dollar of our money. Messrs. Loughborough and Mills were 
constantly present, and unwearied in their attentions, to make everything 
l^leasant. Two nobler specimens of men and perfect gentlemen it has not been 
our fortune to meet. - 

We cannot, in our limited space, begin to give a description of the vast 
cotton-fields, the extensive pine forests, and the great mineral wealth of the 
State. The great trouble with the farmers of this State has been, they have 
devoted their whole attention to the raising of cotton, to the exclusion of 
everything else ; what is wanted in Arkansas at this time is manufacturing 
enterprises of all kinds, and a class of farmers who farm it as our Michigan 
farmers do, that is, "raise a little of everything," so that if one or two things 
fail they have something else to fall back on. We saw as fine samples of all 
Idnds of grain and fruit as is raised at the North ; and the State now has 
railroad facilities, which she did not have ten years ago, so that any one who 
goes to Arkansas need not consider himself out of the pale of civilization. 
Villages not 50 miles from Little Rock have already received 8,000 bales of 
cotton, for which they paid about 12J cents per pound. Any of our readers 
who desire further information in regard to Arkansas can obtain it by addressing 
J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner, or T. B. Mills & Co., at Little Rock, 
who will send them pamphlets and answer all questions, and be pleased to do 
so. Not a single accident happened to mar the pleasure of the entire trip, and 
not a word of disappointment was heard from any one. We shall alwa3's 
remember with pleasure those five days. 



CHAPTER XI.-MISSOURL 



From the "ST. LOUIS REPUBLICAN. 



J. A. DACUS, Correspondent. 




Malvern, October 1, 1875. 

|ERE we are. After a ride over a rough mountain road of some 20 odd 
miles, and six miles over the narrow-gauge railway, the party of press 
representatives, who were induced by the flattering invitation of Hon. 
J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills to quit for a season their dusty offices 
away up in the great Northwest, for a run down through the forest-crowned 
land of Arkansas, have come again to the line of the great south^festern thor- 
oughfare, somewhat wearied, but well pleased with their experience in this new 
land of agricultural capabilities and natural wonders. While we pause here it 
may be well to pass somewhat in review the object which the projectors of the 
excursion had in view, and the evidences of prosperity which have been pre- 
sented along the entire route traversed. Of course it is needless to say that 
Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Col. T. B. Mills and Hon. Thomas Essex had made 
complete arrangements to secure their guests all the comforts to be had while 
traveling. A train of splendid Pullman palace cars had been provided, and 
preparations made along the route for feeding the representatives of the press 
who traveled with them down South into Dixie. Very few of the party had 
ever set foot upon Arkansas soil before, and of course very few of them had 
any very accurate conception of what the State is, and no idea of what it may 
become. They have now passed over some hundreds of miles of road running 
through perhaps the least inviting portions of the State, and, judging by expres- 
sions which I have heard among them, they are fast yielding their preconceived 
notions of the State and its people, and the men who contribute to the formation 
of pubhc opinion in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa are persuaded 
that this large territory possesses all the essential natural conditions to make it 
one of the greatest among the great sisterhood of States when its vast resources 
shall have been developed. To disabuse the public mind of the people of the 
Northwestern States through the medium of those who are the creators of 



288 • THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

public sentiment, as regards the character of the soil, climate and productions 
of the State, and the social habits and intellectual condition of the people, was 
the main object had in view by Messrs. Loughborough and Mills in getting up 
the excursion. In this I tliink they have been eminently successful. 

These Northern editors came down to this State and found the people at 
peace with each other, surrounded by evidences of prosperity equal to that 
which annually crowns the labors of the husbandman of their own States. They 
found the garners and storehouses filled with wheat, the fields overflowing with 
corn, and, what is far more significant and important in exercising an influence 
on the commerce and finance of the whole country, they saw vast fields white 
with the richest crop of cotton ever grown in this country. They must have 
been surprised, too, and many of them have so expressed themselves to me, in 
relation to the social characteristics of the people. It is a fact, which any one con- 
versant with the people in the sections indicated will readily admit, that, in point 
of intelligence, the rural population of Arkansas will compare favorably with the 
inhabitants of large sections of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and 
Michigan. And this is one of the things which the editorial party discovered, 
that is, that the people of Arkansas are not a set of semi-savage boors, but an 
intelligent, warm-hearted, hospitable people, among whom agreeable social 
relations might be readily established. And this is no matter of minor consid- 
eration to people who seek new homes among strange people. All along the 
route from St. Louis to Little Rock, from Little Rock to Malvern, and from 
Malvern to Hot Springs, and so back to Malvern, the party of excursionists 
have been received and entertained in the warmest and most hospitable manner. 
The houses of the people of Little Rock were thrown open to them, and men 
from the North. South, East and West, who have for years made Arkansas their 
home, met together under a common impulse to show their visitors that the 
hatchet had been buried, that there is no longer a chasm separating the people 
of different sections who have established themselves in this growing State. 

Indeed, it appears that the old Arkansans have long ago concluded that 

" Work lulls the sad heart's complaining : 
Through the task and the toil runs the yearning ache 
Yet duty grows dearer for her own grave sake, 
And muscles are stronger for straining." 

And in the tasks of life imposed, they have forgotten to complain, and once 
more have commenced to buUd fortunes on more durable foundations than those 
upon which once they built. They reaUze that 

" 'Tis well they see the brightest side — 

The direful shadows never — * 

And keep the flowers of hope in bloom 

Within their hearts forever." 

And this, looking ahead to the gleam through the storm cloud's silver lining, 
is doing much for the State, and wiU surely do much more. From Poplar Bluff, 
on the border of Missouri, to Arkadelphia, in the valley of the Ouachita, and' 
beyond, the country smiles in the richest abundance. Everywhere the fields- 
liave produced immense crops of corn, wheat, oats, potatoes — in fact,, all food-' 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 289 

crops which the people had planted — and the greatest profusion of these staples 
of life is to be found almost everywhere. But this is not all. The old monarch 
of our commercial relations and financial status, cotton, has this year surpassed 
all former years in the bountifulness of production. The wiiter having spent 
many years in the cotton-growing belt, is free to say that never before has he 
seen such cotton -fields as those now to be found spread out all over Arkansas. 
Not only is the yield per acre assured as above the production of former years, 
but the quality of the staple is better than usual. 

All these things the visitors saw for themselves, and will go home impressed 
with the conviction that Arkansas would be a great State if there were only 
men enough to tQl more fields such as they saw. There are the vast forests, 
waiting to be felled, the water-courses to be controlled to drive machinery, and 
only are needed now the intelligent minds to direct and the Strong muscles of 
men to execute the mighty work of subduing this comparatively wilderness 
State, and rendering it a garden of beaut3^ Of 52,000,000 acres of land only 
17,000,000 acres have been sold, and of the amount sold a comparative!}^ small 
proportion has been subdued. Here are the lands, and here the climate is mild 
and genial as in Italy; but the people are wanting. Arkansas needs more 
population — -men with money and brains and brawn — to clear away the wilder- 
ness and make this a great and prosperous State. 

The Hot Springs are the wonders of the State, and indeed of the whole 
country. Vei-y few of the excursionists had seen these thermal fountains 
before, and of course the difficulties of the journey to that famous resort 
counted as nothing before the desire to see the wonders of that famous moun- 
tain gorge. The editorial party went, and in right royal style too. Just think 
of a sparsely settled country, with only one or two villages and some farms in 
the valleys, furnishing, on call, transportation for 150 persons. Yet that is 
what the good citizens of Hot Springs did, and only a part of what they did at 
that. Wagons, stages, carriages, rockaways and ambulances, an inharmonious 
collection, to be sure, but more than sufficient to carry every member of the 
party, awaited at the present terminus of Joe Reynolds' narrow-gauge railway, 
some 10 miles from this place, until the pencil-drivers appeared. The proces- 
sion over the hills and vallej^s toward Hot Springs was a most extraordinary 
spectacle, the like of which had never been witnessed before, and may never 
be seen again. In due time the party arrived at the entrance to the gorge in 
which the village is situated, escorted by a numerous cavalcade of citizens. 
This place has been so often described in your columns that it is unnecessary 
to ofi"er a further description. The town was alive that night. Everybody was 
out to meet and greet the Northern pilgrims. The hospitality of the citizens 
must have been very heavily taxed, but everj^thing seemed to flow free as the 
water which flows from the mountains down the channel of the Golpha. 

There one day will be a city, not large, perhaps, as to population, but 

renowned everywhere as the Baden-Baden of America. It must be so. In a 

few weeks the iron horse will thunder up the valley, drawing after him long 

trains of cars with easy chaii's and cushioned seats, over a smooth trackway of 

19 



290 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

iron, and in these the wealthy sufferers from all parts of the world will come in 
swarms in search of relief. 

And here, too, at Malvern, there will sometime in the future spring up a 
flourishing little city, with a busy, bustling population, who will reap profits 
from the constant stream of humanity pouring through it, and the immense 
amount of the goods which must be transferred. And even from Malvern some 
■of the excursionists will carry away some pleasant memories of the kind words 
spoken, some fancy of dark eyes glancing and sweet voices passing out on the 
balmy morning air. 

Down through Arkansas is not what people once deemed it — a journey of 
peril and hardships among a people rude and dangerous. Those days, if such 
days there were, have passed away forever. Modern travelers will have brighter 
memories of this sunny land. 



From the " ST. LOUIS COMMERCIAL GAZETTE." 



p. H. THOMAS, Correspondent. 



The excursion into Arkansas, of the gentlemen of the press of the Western 
States, left, as per programme, on the 28th of September, and returned to 
St. Louis on the night of the 3d of October. The round trip was a success m 
ever}^ particular, and Col. Loughborough, Land Commissioner of the St. Louis, 
Iron Mountain & Southern Railway, and Col. Mills, of the Spirit of Arkansas, 
are to be congratulated upon the fact that everything they planned was carried 
out so satisfactorily to all. The editors of papers from this city and State, and 
from the great States of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, etc., 
have discovered that the State of Ai'kansas is capable of being made one of the 
foremost in the whole confederation of commonwealths. The work of developing 
its resources is going on slowly and gradually, and, as the gentlemen who 
planned the excursion shrewdly perceived, all that is needed is immigration and 
Northern brawn and muscle to make Arkansas take its proper position among its 
sister States. 

It is.. not necessary to speak at length of the trip from St. Louis to the City 
of Roses, as Little Rock- is fancifully called. It is sufficient to say that the 
train was a special, composed of Pullman sleepers, and that nothing of interest 
occurred between the two cities. In the party were journalists from Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Iowa, , Kentucky , Wisconsin, Missouri and 
California, their number being about one hundred. Dailies, weeklies, monthlies, 
specie, inflation, political, commercial, literary, and, in fact, all varieties of 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 291 

publications, were represented, and, as will be seen further along, the general 
and unanimous sentiment of the excursionists was that Arkansas is one of the 
most inviting of our States for agriculture, mining and manufacturing pursuits. 

At Little Rock the editors were received in elegant style by the citizens,- 
episodes of the meeting being a banquet, speeches and interchanges of sociability 
and visits to the surrounding country to inspect the products of the soil. 

Cotton-fields, white as snow, with the pickers hard at work, were viewed, and 
the wonderful fertility of the soil for vegetables, grain and the &eecy staple 
was shown. On the eminences about the beautiful Arkansas capital, the 
grape is grown successfully, and in the lowlands gardening is a source of profit. 
This latter industry is as yet in its infanc}?', and there are hundreds of acres 
that but wait the skilled hands of the gardener and small farmer, with moderate 
means, to supply St. Louis and other Western and Northern markets with 
melons, berries and " garden sass," several weeks earlier than we can produce 
these articles of 'consumption. A noticeable lack of manufactures in Little 
Rock, where water is abundant, was commented upon, and this was deemed the 
more strange, as afterward coal in abundance was discovered to be present on 
the road (not yet completed) to Fort Smith. 

The visitors left Little Rock Thursday morning to visit the celebrated Hot 
Springs. At Malvern another reception was had. It is at this point that the 
narrow-gauge railway being built by Diamond Joe Reynolds, of Chicago, begins. 
The rails are laid for some six miles west of Malvern, and the party was carried 
this distance on the diminutive cars of the road. At the terminus coaches, 
wagons, hacks, etc.-, were found waiting, the generous people of Hot Springs 
ha^dng arranged for the transportation of the guests. It must be confessed 
that the trip was not a j)leasant one, the journey being made over mountains 
and lesser eminences, with an occasional dash through more level and fertile 
country. Pine abounded on the hills, and harder timber in the gorges and 
valleys. Corn showed a fine growth, and it was observed that cotton, tobacco 
and wheat were raised successfully on the hill-sides. The grape is also culti- 
vated, but not generally. The truth is, and this remark is based upon the 
observations and experiences of the entire trip, the State needs to be developed. 
The resources it has ; immigration it needs ; and there is little doubt that when 
the editors of the Northwest speak, as they will, as to what they saw in the 
much-abused State, a tide of immigration will set in that will make Arkansas 
take high rank in the sisterhood of States. In this connection it may not be 
inapropos to introduce some resolutions which were unanimously adopted at 
Little Rock prior to the homeward return of the excursionists. 

[The resolutions are printed on page 55.] 

At Hot Springs a grand reception was accorded the excursionists, and the 
hospitable people of the wonderful little village vied with each other in enter- 
taining their guests. The thermal springs, which make the valley what it is, 
and without which the town would not exist, are situated on the west side of a 
bold mountain, which is opposite as rocky and rugged a range. In the valley 
hetween the two the straggling street is skirted thickly on either side with 



292 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

houses of all conceivable designs. Hotels and boarding-honses are in abund- 
ance, and physicians also do congregate. The waters of the numerous hot 
springs cure numerous ills, and it is not too much to say that when the narrow- 
gauge railroad, now building, is finished. Hot Springs will be the Siloam of 
the globe, as it now is the Arkansas Bethesda. Agriculturally considered, the 
county, of which the town is the capital, does not amount to much. However, 
a few miles below the village, on the Ouachita river, a beautiful and picturesque 
stream, which would gladden the heart of an artist to sketch, one of the resi- 
dent physicians is cultivating with profit, for table use and for wine, over 100 
varieties of tame and wild grapes. Fruit of all kinds is brought into market 
in profusion, and several varieties, owing to the genial climate, are in season 
several months. 

The editorial sight-seers, after banqueting, dancing, inspecting the thermal 
fountains and speechifying, left Hot Springs Friday morning, and' after the usual 
rough stage ride to Malvern, mitigated en route by a six-mile spin on the nar- 
row-gauge proceeded southward on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern 
Railroad as far as Arkadelphia, the county seat of Clark, and a town about 40 
years old. Here a barbecued dinner was provided the quill-drivers, and a 
reception was had. The ladies graced the scene with their presence, as indeed 
was the case ?tt all points stopped at, and a cordial interchange of good-will was 
indulged in. The town is one of the important shipping points for cotton, and 
the country surrounding is fertile and thickly settled. A run down the railroad 
was made to a plantation, where the curious editors "interviewed" the patch 
and the pickers, and carried ofi" stalks and bolls of the fleecy monarch. Corn 
grows well also on cotton-producing soil, and it was observed that this grain 
was cultivated to a great extent. The planters seem to have become convinced 
that the one-crop system is short-sighted, and after much lecturing by the State 
and outside press, have started to raising their own "hog and hominy." 

Leaving the cotton-fields and Arkadelphia and Malvern, the party returned to 
Little Rock, and, on Saturday morning, early, di^sided, about one-half going up 
on the Fort Smith Railroad to inspect the coal mines, and the remainder taking 
a ride toward Memphis to gaze upon the prairies and the thriving towns en route. 
The entire day and part of the night were consumed by both excursions. The 
party which took to the prairies was delighted with what they saw, and reported 
extraordinary capabilities for hay, corn, etc., with land very cheap and highly 
productive, and thousands of acres awaiting the advent of skilled and indus- 
trious farmers. The other delegation investigated the Spadra and Ouita coal 
mines, and found both varieties to be of value and in abundance, and being 
worked by enterprising companies, which already reap a reward for their ven- 
ture. At several points along the road wonderful vegetables and farm products 
were exhibited by the enthusiastic residents of the country, and it was evident 
that Arkansas can, without much labor, be made to laugh with a harvest that 
older States might well be proud of. 

The return to St. Louis was made, for the most part, during daylight of 
Sunday, and an excellent opportunity was afforded to note the heavy timber, 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 293 

pine forests and . clear streams of Northeast Arkansas. Lively towns, with 
marks of prosperity, were noticeable at intervals, and the pleasure of the ride 
was heightened by the beautiful autumnal foliage and the bracing air of the 
bright October day. Hills and mountains were plunged through and valleys 
and water-courses crossed by the brave iron horse. Gad's Hill, in Missoxui, 
was hurried by, and then at Arcadia a temporary halt was made about noon for 
refreshments. Here more speeches were indulged in, and the chaii^man of the 
excursion, Hon. Jacob Stotler, of Emporia, Kansas, was presented, on behalf of 
the citizens of Hope, Arkansas, a banner of cotton cloth of Hope manufacture. 
The Iron .Mountain was seen, the furnaces at Carondelet, the yellow fields of 
corn between the two, and then in the dusk of Sabbath eve the excursionists 
reached the Future G-reat City, where a separation for home was made by all. 

To sum up : The benefits to arise from the excursion are almost incalculable, 
for, as has been indicated, each member of the party came ofl" the trip thor- 
oughly impressed, from actual observation and from conversation, with the 
valuable resources of our sister State, and will wiite up his experience in an 
intelligent manner. Arkansas only needs development, and immigration wiE 
accomplish this. Let her have the former in plenty, and plenty will she have. 



From the " MIDLAND FARMER," ST. LOUIS. 



J. F. GUnviTS, Correspondent. 



A party of journalists, about four score in number, left St. Louis on the 
evening of September 28th for a flying trip through the State of Arkansas. 
The excursion was planned by Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commissioner 
of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, and Col. T. B. Mills, of 
Little Rock, head of the leading real estate firm in the State. Col. Loughbor- 
ough accompanied the excursion partj^ throughout their five daj^s' wanderings, 
and brought them safely back to St. Louis, filled with gratitude for his good 
offices upon every and all occasions. Col. Mills joined the party just before 
reaching Little Rock, and, seconded ib}^ Hon. Logan H. Roots, a leading banker 
of Little Rock, did the honors of the city and State in a truly royal manner. 

A MENAGERIE OF EDITORS LUXURIOUSLY CAGED. 

The Iron Mountain Railway Company had provided a train of elegant Pull- 
man palace coaches for their guests, and promptly at 9 p. m. the quill-drivers 
put in their appearance, and each took possession of the berth assigned him, 



294 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

which was to be his tindisputecl "local habitation" during the five days' trip. 
Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio furnished the great bulk of the 
party, with a few representatives from localities more remote. There were 
editors and reporters of all kinds and sizes — fat and lean, long and short, 
handsome and homely, witty and stupid — -- as motley a collection of the genus 
homo as is often gathered together. 

Moark is the first station reached in Arkansas, and from here to Little Eock 
the railroad runs nearly " as straight as the crow flies." At Walnut Eidge, in 
Lawrence county, a halt was made for breakfast at the company's eating-house,, 
and a good breakfast it was. Eushing past several embryo villages, another 
halt was made at 

JUDSONIA, 

in White county, 53 miles from Little Eock. At this place is located a Baptist 
educational institution, known as "Judson Universit}^," and from the Eev. 
Benjamin Thomas, President of the University, we learned that the institution^ 
was quite liberally endowed, and that some 500 students had been promised 
for the ensuing term. The university buildings are not within sight of the 
railroad, and therefore we did not have an opportunity to "sdsit them. 

ARRIVED AT LITTLE ROCK, 

according to arrangements previously made, the excursionists were di^dded up 
in sections of twos and threes, and taken in charge by the citizens to whom they 
had been severally assigned. This quartering of four-score hungry newspaper 
men upon the private hospitality of the citizens was probably due to the fact 
that the capital city is somewhat deficient in hotel accommodations, especially as 
one of her largest public houses was destroyed by fire a short time previous to 
our visit. However, the arrangement proved a most fortunate 'one for the 
excursionists, as it brought them in closer social contact with thek hosts, and 
enabled them to gain much useful information regarding the object of their visit. 
Whether the good wives of the city, who were called upon to furnish the sub- 
stantial elements of the entertainment, were as greatly pleased, the writer Avould 
hesitate to express an opinion. It was the good fortune of your correspondent, 
in this somewhat hap-hazard distribution of guests, to fall to the lot of M. W- 
Benjamin, Esq., a prominent attorney of Little Eock, and to him and his estima- 
ble wife he feels greatly indebted for their generous hospitality. In the evening 
a grand banquet was given at Concordia Hall, which was participated in by the 
leading residents of the city. After the tables were cleared of the bounteous 
repast provided, the Hon. J. M. Loughborough, chairman, called the assemblage 
to order, and Gen. E. C. Newton made a pertinent address of welcome. Toasts 
followed in order, the replies to which called to their feet Col. Mills, Judges 
Eose, Yonley and Wilshire, Chief Justice English, Gens. Clayton, Pomeroy 
and Bishop, and a host of 'others. The recent difficulties in the State were 
freely spoken of, and we were assured by gentlemen of both factions, and who 
had personally participated in the troubles, that they had ' ' shaken hands ox^v 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 295 

the bloody chasm" and agreed to let by-goues be by-gones. The admmistra- 
tion of Governor Garland was said to be satisfactory, on the whole, to all the 
people of the State, and they seem to have come to the sensible conclusion that 
the only safe way to revolutionize their government is through the peaceful 
agency of the ballot-box. They spoke warmly in praise of the natural resources 
of their State, together with its salubrious climate, and expressed their anxiety 
to secure the immigration of the Northern farmer, mechanic and capitalist, who 
they felt certain would infuse new energy into the older inhabitants, and rapidly 
carry the State forward to her legitimate position among her sister States. 

Before taldng leave of the hospitable citizens of Little Rock, we should state 
that the city has now a population of about 20,000 ; that it has grown rapidly in 
population and wealth since the war, and that a large proportion of its business 
men are Northern men. It has a respectable number of handsome business 
houses, and everything about the city betokens a fair measure of enterprise and 
thi-ift. The city is handsomely located on the high bluff of the 5b-kansas river, 
and contains a large number of elegant private residences. Its many fine gar- 
dens and grounds, blooming with a wonderful profusion of flowers, have given 
it the not inappropriate designation of the " City of Roses." "We should not 
neglect in this connection to speak of the free reading-room established by 
Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., where are kept on file some hundreds of papers of 
this and adjoining States, to which the public have free access. Messrs. MiUs 
& Co. are themselves publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas, a paper devoted to 
the dissemination of general intelligence regarding the growth and prosperity of 
the State. 

A night run down the road to Malvern where breakfast awaited us, and we 
took passage on a train of ' ' flat' ' cars on the new narrow-gauge railroad for the 
present terminus of the road, where we connected with coaches for Hot Springs. 
The ride over this "baby" raih'oad, through the brisk morning air, and snuffing 
up the odorous scents of the forest which rise on all sides, was one of the 
most enjoyable features of the whole trip. Work on the road is being pushed 
vigorously, and before the new year the thousands of invalids and tourists who 
journey to the Springs can make the trip in comfortable railway coaches, instead 
of the slow and lumbering vehicles which have heretofore made the journey a 
thing to ,be di'eaded and abhorred. 

THE HOT SPRINGS, 

^ We arrived here soon after mid-day, hot, dusty and tired. A refreshing, 
bath, followed by a good dinner, served to put the whole party in good humor, 
and the afternoon was spent in visiting the wonderful natural curiosities which 
abound in the vicinity, chief among which are the springs from which the town 
derives its name. Of the medicinal vu-tues of the waters we have heard such 
marvelous stories that we do not like to tell them, even at second-hand. Suffice 
it to say that, for a large class of chronic ailments, which seem to resist all 
ordinary medical treatment, they are claimed to be an infalhble specific. The 
average number of invalids from abroad who are under treatment at the Springs 



296 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

is said to range from 1,500 to 2,500, and with the increased facilities. of access 
afforded by the raih'oad, it is evident that this nnmber will be greatly increased 
in the future. It requires no great stretch of the imagination, in fact, to 
prognosticate that before many years these springs will have become the most 
popular sanitary resort upon the continent. A grand ball at the Arhngton 
House, at which the beauty and fashion of the town shone in their most radiant 
attire, closed the events of the daj^ 

Off again next morning on our return to Malvern. It had been originally 
projected that we should continue our journey through the State to Texarkana, 
but a delay on the road from the Springs rendered it unadvisable to do so, and 
so after running down to the handsome town of Arkadelphia, and a few miles 
below, where the excursionists were given an opportunity to visit a cotton-field 
and see the pickers at work, we again turned our faces northward. At Little 
Rock on the next day the party separated — one portion going out over the 
Little Eock & Fort Smith Railroad, and the other over the Memphis & Little 
Rock Railroad. Both parties returned the same night, and we immediately 
started for St. Louis, only stopping off en route at the beautiful mountain 
retreat of Arcadia, in Missouri, for dinner. 

This much descriptive of the excursion proper, and as a prelude to the 
more substantial facts regarding the resources and capabilities of the State 
through which we so hastily traveled, and which I shall endeavor to present as 
concisely as possible. 

A TERRA INCOGNITA. 

That Arkansas is to a great majority of the people of the other States a 
country literally unknown is shown from the fact that of the more than four- 
score generally well-travelled men who made up the excursion party, probably 
less than a half-dozen of them had ever before set foot upon its soil ; and a 
categorical questioning of the majority as to their acquired knowledge of the 
State would have draWn from them a confession that the soul-stirring melody 
of the "Arkansas Traveler" (a portrait of the author of which. Col. "Sandy" 
Faulkner, adorned the banquet-room at Little Rock) was about the sum total 
of their knowledge, up to the time of the comparatively recent but somewhat 
unfavorable celebrit}'' acquired by the State on account of the "Brooks-Baxter " 
difficulties. The construction of the great Iron Mountain Railroad, which 
bisects the State from its northeast to its southwest extremitj^, has done very 
much to open up the resources of the country, but still the fact remains, that 
this State, occupying a commanding position upon the great Mississippi, with 
the Arkansas and several other large but less important tributaries flowing 
through nearly its entire breadth, mth a genial climate, fertile bottom-lands, 
forests of valuable timber, and inexhaustible fields of coal . and other minerals, 
has so far failed to secure its proportional share of that healthy immigration 
which has enabled younger States, with probably no better natural advantages, 
to become rich and prosperous commonwealths. Well, there are many patent 
reasons why this has been so — we can see no reason why it should be so in the 



MISSOURI COKKESPONDENCE. 297 

future. The old regime of the State doubtless run things according to their 
way of thinking ; it is useless to criticise them or their ways now. We are 
assured that a new order of things is begun ; that the men now taking the lead 
in affairs — business, political and social — are earnest in their endeavors to incite 
a new and healthy immigration, and to this end are intelligently laboring to 
make known to the world at large the wonderful natural resources of their State. 

THE SOIL AND PRODUCTS. 

The soil is of great variety, as is natural in a country so greatly diversified in 
its natural features. The bottom-lands of the Arkansas, White, Little Red, and 
Ouachita rivers, of which we had opportunity to make personal inspection, have 
every indication of being rich' and productive, and capable of producing 
uniformly good crops of cotton and corn, which we saw in several instances 
growing side by side. 

A bale of cotton and 30 to 60 bushels of corn to the acre we should judge to 
be what can be safely calculated upon, although this yield is doubtless exceeded 
considerably in many indi\'idual instances. Grass and vegetables also do well 
on these low lands. The timber consists principally of the different varieties of 
oak, hickory, sweet gum, elm, maple, ash, and white and black walnut. In 
addition to the streams mentioned, there are the Red, the Saline, the St. Francis, 
the Black, the Little Missouri, the Moro, and the Bayou Bartholomew, and 
many minor streams, besides the great Mississi^Dpi, which forms the entir© 
eastern boundarj'- of the State, the valleys of all of which are said to be highly 
productive. The higher lands are of various soils, much of which is said to be 
especially adapted for fruits, wheat, oats, rye, barley, tobacco, and also corn 
and cotton, and for grazing purposes. For fruits, and especially grapes, which 
are grown in nearly every known variety, 'the soil and climate seem to be 
especially well adapted. Specimens of apples, peaches, pears and plums of 
extraordinary size and of delicious flavor also attest that Arkansas is emphati- 
cally a fruit-growing State. We saw at Little Rock a collection of the various 
products of the State, embracing specimens of cotton, tobacco, the various 
cereals, fruit, varieties of wood, coal, etc., which was indeed a revelation to those 
of the part}^ who had formed their opinion of the State upon the " Arkansaw 
Traveler" basis, as before mentioned. (A portion of the collection above 
mentioned we subsequently saw upon exhibition at the St. Louis Fair, where it 
attracted deserved attention. ) In the matter of fine cabinet woods the State is 
especially prolific, and the almost total exhaustion of this class of timber from 
the Northern and Eastern States will doubtless soon bring into market this 
valuable product. 

The principal coal and iron mines now in operation are along the Arkansas river, 
which runs for 150 miles through a coal formation, varying in thickness from four 
to nine feet. The Ouita mines are located in Pope county, 170 miles west of 
Little Rock, on the Fort Smith Railroad ; the Spadra mines are some 30 miles 
further west upon the same road, and also immediately upon the Arkansas river. 
The coal from these mines is of an excellent quality of semi-anthracite, and 



298 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS, 

being almost entirely free from the offensiA^e smell of bituminous coal, it finds a 
ready market wherever introduced. An analysis of this coal gives 80.46 per 
cent, of fixed carbon, while Pennsylvania anthracite gives only 84 per cent. , and 
the best bituminous coal gives only 57.66 per cent. There are known to be 
large deposits of valuable iron and other ores in various parts of the State, but 
up to the present time, we believe, no systematic eff'ort has been made to test 
their productiveness or value. 

THE CLIMATE. 

Perhaps the greatest inducement to emigration from the Northern and East- 
ern States is the rigor of the climate, which is almost invariably fatal in its 
eff"ects, sooner or later, upon persons at all subject to pulmonary affections. 
To this class of immigrants Arkansas holds out especial inducements, as being . 
comparatively free from those sudden changes of temperature so frecjuent in 
the North, while at the same time the climate is not so debilitating in its eflects 
as that of the more Southern States. At Little Rock — nearly the geographical 
center of the State — the mean temperature for December, January Snd Feb- 
ruary is given at 43.3 degrees, and for June, July and August at 79.1 degrees. 
We have not the data showing the extremes of heat and cold, but it is claimed 
that the thermometer very rarely rises above 90 or 95 degrees, or sinks to less 
than 10 degrees. There is but little snow and ice, and it is claimed that 
plowing may be done every month in the year. It is stated that the growing 
vegetable season embraces nine months in the year, and that corn, potatoes, 
peas and beans can be planted and brought to maturity after wheat and oats 
have been taken from the same land. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

Of course I do not intend in an article of this length, and based upon the, 
cursory observations made in a flying trip through the State, to do more than 
record my observations, and the impressions, necessarily somewhat immature, 
resulting therefrom. Doubtless our Arkansas friends ' ' put their best foot 
foremost," so to say, on the occasion of our visit, and if they had any skele- 
tons in their family closets they didn't bring them out for our inspection. 
They have got land to sell — enough to furnish homes for hundreds of thousands 
of hoped-for immigrants — and if what I have written shall prove an inducement 
to any person to visit the State and judge for himself whether or not it is a 
good place in which to locate, I shall be pleased with the result. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 299! 



From "MINES, METALS AND ARTS," ST. LOUIS. 



JOSEPH E. WARE, Editor. 



The recent editorial excursion to the South, inaugurated by the Land Depart- 
ment of the Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad Company, which left St. Louis 
September 28th, was gotten up with a breadth and liberality, careful forethought 
and developed detail unexampled in the life career of the best traveled news- 
paper man on that enjoyable occasion. The design of the Land Department 
was. to place the editors and representatives of the Northwestern press in a 
position from whence to observe for themselves the actual daily condition in the 
State of Arkansas, its future prospects, educational needs, the desirability of 
its prairie and timber lands, climate, soil, health conditions, purity of water, 
good morals, the suijerabundance of its mineral wealth, and the unusual desira- 
bleness of the country for the metallurgist, the manufacturer, agricultural, 
horticultural, or for pastoral pursuits, together with its remarkable transpor- 
tation facilities, either by rail or water. 

The journals represented were: From Ohio 9, Indiana 18, Illinois 22^ 
Missouri 13, Kansas 5, Michigan 2, Wisconsin 2, Iowa 2, Pennsylvania, Cahfor- 
nia and England 1 each— 82 journals in all from abroad, and ably represented 
by their own editors, or other talented gentlemen. 

RAILROADS ENCOURAGE DENSE POPULATION. 

There are instances of railroad constructions far ahead of the requirements 
of any accessible population. Again, railroads have been constructed with 
excellent starting and terminating points, but having lengthy stretches of unin- 
habited count y between that cannot contribute, for years after the opening of 
the road, even the value of the fuel used on the passing trains. It is not as 
bad as the latter instance with the Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad. It 
starts well and ends well. Still there is the anomaly of a railroad running for 
300 miles through a fruitful country that is nearly as much in the center of 
population as Missouri, Iowa or Tennessee, and having a moderate -population ; 
but one more largely ignorant of the blessings and advantages of having its 
"lines fallen in pleasant places " cannot well be conceived of. 

It is by comparing the little progress of the hundreds with the substantial 
growth in affluence of the enterprising few, that the Observer can perceive that 
but one in ten is obtaining from the soil, the climate, and the circumstances 
of latitude, health, and good water, the remunerative results so amply guar- 
anteed to dihgence, skill, and moderate means. 



300 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

It is not our intention to offer such reflections as the above to tlie surfeiting, 
but to lightly touch the general subject that a hundred pens have already ably 
expatiated upon, and take up a part of the scene that was measurably hidden 
from too many of our excursionists. We therefore ask to be indulged while 
taking 

^ A GEOLOGICAL VIEW, 

premising that the entire expanse over which our train will move from Poplar 
Bluff to Little Rock, many an age back, during the tertiary times, was swept 
and scoured by the winds and waves of that Atlantic Ocean that we now look 
for beyond Florida. The deep estuary, down which we ran to Moark, was once 
an indentation in the ancient coast-line that can so distinctly be followed south- 
westerly from Cape Girardeau on the west side of the Mississippi ; a coast that 
we skirt very closely when we run under the limestone spurs of the Salado hills. 
Only at Little Rock, after running 180 miles, does the train climb up on this 
shore. The beautiful bridge at that place lands us on a tilted slate reef, the 
distorted argilaceous mass upon which Little Rock stands having formerly been 
a mere outlajdng mud-bar that filled in between Big Rock and the Fourche 
range, then a ledge or fork-shaped island, composed of gray granite, porphyry, 
greenstone, feldspathic, quartz and syenite. The direction of the railroad 
southward runs diagonallj^ across this headland, or island, bringing the 
train in a distance of 60 miles back again to the old sea level, which it will 
not leave again until the train at some future day will cross the Rio Grande. 

It is seldom realized by travelers on this road, and scores of others in the 
South and Southwest, that the time of the emergence of this vastly extensive 
region is not very remote ; two causes ha^^ng operated to accelerate the condition 
now existing — subsidence and emergence — either of which would have effected 
the same result, but during a longer period of time ; both combined therefore 
hastened the operation. 

The reader who has traveled and observed will have no difficulty in mentally 
following the coast line of the tertiary period, at which time every river now 
emptying into the Mississippi had its own proper point of embouchure ; the Ohio 
and Mississippi entering the ocean 200 miles apart ; the White river entering at 
Sulphur Rock, the Arkansas at Big Rock, and the Red River above the mouth 
of Sulphur Fork. 

The territory east and west of the Mississippi that thus has risen from the sea, 
now comprises much of New Jersey, Delaware, Marjdand, the eastern portions 
of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina ; two-thirds of Alabama, all of 
Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, one-half of Arkansas and Texas ; much of 
Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri, all of Tamaulipas, and thence west 
of Vera Cruz, the shore line where the Rio Grande entered the ocean, being 
northwest of Camargo. 

Our editorial comrades not ha^'ing had in most instances the opportunity to 
travel over large expanses of flu\do-marine territoiy, were naturally' surprised at 
the wonderful fertility of the soil, its happy relations to an almost peerless 
climate and a fair average of health. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 301 

BANQUETED. 

At Little Rock there was dining, sight-seeing, rambling, high-toned ban- 
quetry and toasting, with brilliant response and broad mirth, everything being 
done with a lavishness of spontaneous hospitality that is sometimes prodigal in 
the &outh — due, it is thought by some, to the circumstances that in climates 
where human life is but lightly strained in exertions to gain a sufficiency of food 
and other physical enjoyments, the grossness of selfishness is not largely 
developed as it is in the natures of nearly all people that have to conquer a 
living amid fierce, long winters, ungenial springs, short mouthed summers and 
quickly attendant autumns, with premature frosts, and latterly the too often 
famine-breeding drouth. 

"Easy come,- easy go" is characteristic of people that are but slightly dis- 
turbed at the loss of an early crop, when the climate permits a second one 
being made, and where two crops can generally be made the certainty is that at 
least one will be good ; nor is there a fearfully long winter, with its inexorable 
demand for fuel for life-heat, and a six months' supply of stock-food, that often 
is worth as much as the stock is when it is wintered. 

A CONTEST WITH NATURE. 

Nor are the above the only evils that a genial climate exempts people from. 
Woi*se than all is the frightful prevalence of remediless consumption in North- 
ern climes, where the bloom of life, intellect and cultivation, of rich and poor, 
are in the throng that are doomed to linger in hectic cleceitfulness, to go down 
at last ^ spectral offerings to a malignant uncongeniality of clime and life. 

All the foregoing, and more too, entered into our reflections as we compared 
hundreds of the people of Arkansas, who never were in a hurry in their lives to 
do their year's work, and yet had fau' possessions, and much out of which to 
create comforts, without the anxious, apprehensive and desperate energy of so 
many that we wot of in the Northwest, of which we had an early experience. 

MOST THINGS MUST END. 

The festivities at Little Rock closed with the summons to repair to the train 
en route for Hot Springs via the new town of Malvern. Awaking at daylight, 
the company, which had largely gained bulk by accretion from the Rock, dis- 
covered itself snugly switched, to be followed, however, very soon after, by a 
very palliating breakfast given by the good people of Malvern. Joe Reynolds' 
device was hailed as a blessed boon to such of the thi-ong on their way to the 
Springs as had a previous knowledge of staging that distance. We djd eight 
miles very comfortably and amusingly on the board-seated fiats, and survived 
the 16 miles of rather rough stage and hack life, to be taken up by the good 
people of Hot Springs, and well done for in the way of good and abundant 
eating ; an elegant reception was given us, attended by at least 75 well-attired 
and cultivated ladies, while of the sterner sex nearly as many were present as 



-302 THE HEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

could be pressed into the immense assembly-room of tlie Arlington House, for 
mutual speech-making and fraternal compliments, to early give waj^ for the 
*' on with the dance." Of course, not being much of a dancist, and too old to 
learn, we fell back on certain resei'ved rights that we possessed " up the creek," 
and sought our welcome and worthy bed at the cheerful and cheering hostelry 
where we had already twice feasted to repletion, and in the Grand Central Hotel 
spent as refreshing a night in quiet sleep as ever we did a long time ago, when 
we were a boy. ' , 

There are three monster hotels — the Hot Springs, the Grand Central and the 
Arlington — not counting an astonishing number of caravansaries of less, and 
some of very httle note, as hotels and boarding-houses. Of a fair number of 
them, in justice and truth, it is affirmed that they are very similar to the singed 
cat, immensely better than they look, while several of them do look well and 
are said to be well conducted in feeding, sleeping, and comfortable internal 
discipline. 

Hot Springs has several thousand inhabitants, churches, schools, a street 
railroad nearly two miles long, two stage companies — the El Paso and Inde- 
pendent lines — both officered and manned by most accommodating persons, 
with equippage of excellent horses and coaches. 

ARLINGTON HOTEL, HOT SPRINGS. 

While the fame of the almost miraculous thermal waters of these springs has 
spread rapidly over the country, the appliances for their use have not increased 
in any adequate degree. A deficiency as to hotel accommodation the proprie- 
tors of the Arlington determined to supply, and having selected and secured 
the most eligible site in the valley for the purpose, they have opened to the 
public one of the most elegant and spacious hotels in the Southwest. It is 
beautiful and attractive in design, and elaborate and complete in its fittings and 
arrangements. It overlooks Gov. Rector's well-known arsenic spring, and its 
roof covers his most valuable bath-house. It is lighted thi'oughout by gas, and 
an electric annunciator puts every room in communication with the office. 
Extraordinary precautions have been taken against fire, and in the event of fire 
the house has been so constructed as to afford as ample and easy egress from 
either of the upper stories as from the lower or ground floor. The proprietors 
have spared no expense, and they exert their best efforts to promote the comfort 
and convenience of their guests. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 303 



FROM THE "DEXTER CITY ENTERPRISE." 



C. E. STOKES, Editor. 



At 5.-')0 A. M. on September 29th, at Poplar Bluff, we took a seat in one of 
tlie magnificent palace coaches, with a number of our brethren of the quill, to 
visit the great commonwealth of Arkansas. Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land 
Commissioner of the St. Louis, L-on Mountain & Southern Railroad, and Col. 
T. B. Mills, of the Spirit of Arkansas^ were the originators of the excursion, 
and it is feebly expressing the facts when we say that everything connected 
with the preparation was grand, princely and superb. 

The accommodations furnished by the great railway which Col. Loughborough 
represented consisted of a train of beautiful and comfortable palace and passen- 
ger coaches and elegant Pullman sleepers. Arriving at Walnut Ridge the 
party partook of a sumptuous breakfast, by which time we were all wide-awake 
and on the qui vive to see everything possible of interest in our sister State. 
At Newport, a thriving little town on the east bank of White river, we halted 
half an hour, and were joined by Col. Haskell, of the spicy News. Again the 
whistle sounds " down brakes," and we find ourselves at Judsonia, a beautiful 
little callage on the north bank of the Little Red river, where we were met by a 
committee of citizens with banners flj^ng, tendering the excursionists a heart}'' 
welcome to the State. This place is situated six miles from the celebrated 
Sulphur Springs at Searcy, and was founded by a colony of Northern men. 
The chief attraction here is the elegant Judson University, with Rev. Benjamin 
Thomas, A. M., as President, supported by a full corps of accomplished teach- 
ers. The university bids fair to surpass anything of the kind in the State, and 
is situated in one of the healthiest portions of the country. 

"All aboard! " and the train thundered along through the rich arable lands 
and lively little towns until we reached the City of Roses — the beautiful capi- 
tal — Little Rock. Crossing the majestic Arkansas on the grand railroad bridge, 
we halted at the magnificent passenger depot of the road. Here we were met 
by a delegation of citizens, headed by the superb city cornet band, and escorted 
to the city, arriving there at 2.30 p. bi., and in less than an hour the whole 
party were seated in the elegant parlors of the hospitable citizens who had 
volunteered^ to entertain us, and at four o'clock we were discussing with 
usual editorial activity and earnestness the bountiful and refreshing "viands set 
before us. 

It was our good fortune to be assigned to dine with Mr. W. H. Winfield, an 
old Southeast Missourian, and we feel truly proud at having been the guest of 
such an urbane, hospitable gentleman, and at being so richly entertained by so 



304 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

refined and accomplished family. Long will our sojourn with Mr. W. remain 
one of the pleasantest memories of our trip. After dinner we took a carriage 
with some friends and had a drive over portions of the city — • saw the Blind 
Institute — the huge, massive gray walls that surround the Penitentiary; the 
beautiful grounds around the United States Arsenal, and also the tasty and mag- 
nificent St. John's College, besides hundreds of elegant residences and business 
houses, some of which would adorn any city. It would be futile to attempt to 
describe with any sort of correctness all the beauties and magnificent taste for 
which Little Rock is so proverbial. Suffice it to say, it is fully entitled to the 
beautiful sobriquet, "the City of Eoses," and its gallant citizens deserve the 
good name they have won for hospitality, sociability and true refinement. 

It is night, and the city is brilliantly illuminated by its myriads of gas-jets, 
and the grand occasion of the excursion, the banquet, is announced, and we all 
repair to the dazzlingly-lighted " Concordia Hall," where our formal reception 
and welcome is to take place. And now, avaunt editorial caj-es and duties, and 
ho! for a " feast of reason and a flow of soul " — spai'kling champagne and 
rich, mellow wine flowed in perfect profusion, while CA^er and anon the great 
hall would faiiiy shake with the enthusiastic applause to the beautiful and elo- 
quent speeches in reply to toasts. It was there we met in social conversation 
the celebrities of all parties, aud learned of the grand and rapid strides Arkansas 
is now making towards a great and glorious future ; and heartily did the press 
representatives of the great Northwest bid her a hearty God-speed in her pro- 
gressive march, and hope she may now ever be free from the evils which have so 
retarded her growth, and obstructed the great flow of immigration which is now 
and will continue seeking homes there. After the banquet, which was grand 
and recherche beyond even an attempt at description, we left for Hot Springs. 
At Malvern we were met by her liberal and whole-souled citizens, who had in 
waiting a tempting and truly elegant breakfast. 

Here we took the narrow-gauge railroad, which is now in process of construc- 
tion between those places, upon which we went ten miles, and 'vere here met by 
citizens frorn the Springs with carriages, stages and hacks, and conveyed to the 
celebrated health resort. Here going to the palatial Ai-lington Hotel, we found 
a dinner "fit for the gods," to which we did full justice. At nine p. m. we 
assembled in the great hall of the Arlington, at which time a formal reception 
speech was delivered by Col. J. M. Harrell. Immediately came a grand ball, 
where we witnessed the beauty and gallantry of the valley. 

We visited the diflerent springs ■ — saw the vast horde of health-seekers, and 
learned from all we conversed with of the powerful health-giving qualities of the 
waters there. The scenery is grand and picturesque, and the wonders to be 
seen there are well worth a visit from the healthy, and the truly wonderful 
curative effects of the waters are a God-send to the afflicted. At eight A. m. 
Friday we left the Springs for Arkadelphia, v/here we were again welcomed and 
escorted to a splendid barbecue prepa: ed by the citizens. After enjoying the 
hospitalities of the good citizens until 10 p. m. we returned to Little Rock, and 
Ijdng over until morning (Saturday), the party divided, part going over the 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 305 

Fort Smith Railroad and the others over the Memphis & Little Rock road as far 
as Forrest City, passing through , the prairies of Arkansas, the most beautifull 
part of the State. The party then retiu-ned to Little Rock and immediately left, 
for home. 

At the great land office of the enterprising Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., Little ■ 
Rock, we found every facility for obtaining information in regard to the lands 
and productions of Arkansas, and learned that there are now in market at 
unusually low rates, timber, prairie, stock, wheat, corn, cotton, fruit, sugar,, 
grape, pine, oak, coal and mineral lands of the finest quality. The St. Louis,. 
Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad Company has a land grant from the Unitedl 
States of nearly two million acres of rich, arable farming lands, lying on either- 
side of the road, some of which are located in thickly-settled sections, where 
there are mills, churches and schools. These fine lands can be bought on the- 
very best terms at from $3 to $o per acre. 

The State G-overnment is again in the hands of the people, and peace and 
good order reign supreme. Taxation for State purposes cannot exceed one per 
cent. , and free schools are maintained and supported. The colored people con- 
stitute only one-foui'th of the population. The climate is unsurpassed, and corn,, 
cotton, wheat, oats, fruits and vegetables of all kinds can be grown with cer- 
tainty. Arkansas has never been afflicted with grasshoppers, cotton worms or 
other destructive insects, thus giving desirable homes to the industrious poor 
man, where he is sure of the fruits of his labor. Besides this, Arkansas presents', 
a most inviting and tempting field to capitalists and manufacturers. There are^ 
vast and illimitable forests of white oak for stave and ship timbers, black and red! 
oak, poplar, cypress, j^ellow pine, post oak, ash, beech, bois d'arc, cedar, hickory,, 
gum, sassafras and walnut. 

The very best of feeling exists between Southern and Northern men, one- 
feeling as secure in life, liberty and property as the other, all political difficulties, 
having been settled and forgotten, and all parties have gone to work to properly 
develop the great resources of the State. 

We saw some as fine fruit as one could wish for — pears weighing 25 ounces ;, 
apples two pounds, and as fine grapes as ever grew in California. Frost-bitten 
farmers of the bleak and wintry North, we would advise you to go look at Ar- 
kansas. The great railway which traverses the State from one end to the other 
off'ers magnificent inducements to explorers. Our word for it, j^ou T\all find 
millions of acres of cheap and powerful producing land, good laws, a wise and 
good constitution, and a refined and hospitable people. 

The entire party was la^dsh in the praise of Hon. J. M. Loughborouglx 
and Col. T.' B. Mills, and well do they deserve it. The excursion was a; 
grand success, and we trust will rewound to the benefit and pleasure of alii 
concerned. 



20 



306 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



FROM THE "DEMOCRAT," HILLSBORO. 



R. W. McMULLIN, EDITOR. 



In response to an invitation from Hon. J. M. Loughborough, Land Commis- 
sioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Raihoad, and from T. B. 
Mills & Co. , publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas, we went to De Soto, where 
we boarded the excursion train. The object of the excursion was to give those 
desiring it an opportunity to see the State of Arkansas as it is ; to ascertain the 
condition of its government and society ; and to judge, after examination, of 
the character of its soil and products. 

The party was composed of members of the press from the States of Indiana, 
Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, Ohio and Missouri, and was joined in Arkansas by 
several editors of that State. A train of Pullman cars was furnished the party, 
and Col. Loughborough and Mr. Mills labored with untking energy to secure 
the comfort of their guests, and to enable them to see all that could be seen 
during the limited time they had to spare ; and these two gentlemen, as well as 
many other citizens of Arkansas, will always be held in grateful remembrance 
for the many kindnesses and courtesies shown us. 

When we got on the train the visitors were all asleep, and we were soon 
wooing the embraces of Morpheus ourself. After a fitful sleep we awoke next 
morning in the State of Arkansas, and looking through the window saw a vast 
scope of level country, covered with a thick growth of timber — a wild, unculti- 
vated expanse — imating only as a resort for hunters and those in search of 
solitude or wild adventures. For many miles there was no change in the 
appearance of the country. The ground appeared flat and wet, but producing 
an abundance of the finest pine timber the eye ever beheld. 

At about nine o'clock Wednesday we reached a station called Walnut Ridge, 
where breakfast for our party was in waiting, which we dispatched without 
much ceremony. Here we found a farming country, well supplied with timber, 
waiting for occupation and cultivation. This can be said of the greater portion 
of the country traversed by us. According to the Arkansans, Arkansas is the 
farmers' paradise, and we wonder that so few are enjoying the blessings in store 
for them there. There is certainly good land and plenty of it, which can be 
bought very cheap. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad Com- 
pany have manj^ thousands of acres of the best land, which they are offering 
to actual settlers on very reasonable terms. 

Leaving Walnut Ridge we arrived at Little Rock in the afternoon ; were met 
at the depot by the citizens of the place, and conducted to their homes and 
provided with excellent dinners. It was our good fortune to be entertained hj 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 307 

Mr. W. H. Winfield, formerly a newspaper editor at Ironton, Mo., now prac- 
ticing law at Little Eock. After dinner we were provided with carriages, and 
shown the city-a neat, healthy-looking place-the home of many wide-awake 
enterprising men, who are making their presence and influence felt throughout 
the surrounding country as well as at home. Among these enterprising men we 
must mention T. B. Mills & Co., publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas. 
_ In the evening a banquet was spread in the city hall, to which we were aU 
invited, and where we met the prominent men of the place. The tables were 
spread with all the delicacies and luxuries of the season, and wines and cham- 
pagne flowed Uke water. After eating, several hours were spent in ofl-ering 
toasts and responses, speech-making, etc. Here, in the capital of the State we 
had the best opportunity of studying the character of the people and determin- 
ing their feehngs towards each other and the rest of mankind. We saw sitting 
side by side men who, but a few months ago, were leading against each other 
bands of armed men, in a deadly strife for power and pelf. Now there is no 
contention but that noble contention, or rather emulation, of who can best 
work and best agree. All unite in praise of Governor Garland and their State 
government. In the hall of the Merchants' Exchange we were shown specimens 
of the products of the State-apples and pears as fine as can be grown in any 
country, the tallest wheat, oats, millet and corn that we ever saw; fine vegeta- 
bles, and last though not least, specimens of the timber. They have certainly 
as fine timber for ornamental work as the world produces. In the railroad work- 
shop at Little Rock we saw a cabinet constructed there for Col. Loughborough 
of Arkansas wood, which, as a specimen of wood-work, can hardly be excelled 
It will be exhibited at the St. Louis Fail- and also at the Centennial at PhHadel^ 
phia. It IS composed of 18 kinds of wood, if we remember correctly. 

After the banquet and speech-making was over we again took the cars and 
proceeded to Malvern, where we breakfasted next morning, and whence we 
embarked for Hot Springs on the narrow-gauge railroad. Some flat cars had been 
furnished with rough board seats, and on these we were pushed up the valley 
by the powerful httle engine, which, compared with the large freight engines on 
the St. Louis roads, appeared more like a toy. It was one of the pleasantest 
railroad rides we ever had; the air was cool and bracing, and free from dust 
and the scenery was delightful. 

There was only 10 mUes of the road completed, and from thence to Hot 
Springs was about 20 miles of staging over the roughest road imaginable A 
large train of the El Paso Company's coaches was waiting for us, and i^ ihem 
we were conveyed over the rocky road -about aU the earth along the route 
havmg taken the form of dust, and flying in clouds, making our ride the more 
disagreeable. But our reception at Hot Springs, and the wonders of nature 
there revealed to our astonished visions, amply repaid us for all the discomforts 
o± the trip. Free baths were placed at our disposal, excellent dinners were 
given us at the hotels, and the remainder of the day was spent in company with 
citizens of the place, who kindly conducted and exi^lained to us all, or as many 
of the great wonders as we had time to see. At night " hops" were given at 



308 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the two largest hotels, the Arlington and the Hot Springs, to both of which the 
excursionists had free invitation»s, and where we saw the elite of the city trimmed 
out in all the style of a fashionable watering-place. 

After a short sleep at the hotels, we were up early in the morning, ready to 
start on our return trip, but the stages were delayed an hour or two in starting, 
and on the way a team attached to a heavily loaded coach ran away, ran into the 
next coach, one of the horses getting a foot in the wheel and breaking his leg. 
The horse was shot and rolled out of the road, the damages to the coach were 
repaired, and on we went ; but the delays had put us behind time, and we 
reached Malvern at a later hour than was intended. We lost no time in board- 
ing the train for Arkadelphia, where an old-fashioned barbecue had been 
prepared for us, but as we arrived three or four hours late, the bread and meat 
had got very dry, but we were hungry enough for the occasion. It was nearly 
night when we finished our dinner, and so our trip down the road had to be given 
up ; but we ran on down eight or nine miles, and had a view of some of the large 
cotton plantations ; took a stroll through the cotton-fields, and saw the darkies 
picking cotton, and after it got too dark to see any more, returned- to Arkadel- 
phia, where an address of welcome was delivered by Col. Gaulding, editor of a 
paper at that place, and several hours were spent in speech-making. 

Leaving Malvern, we returned to Little Rock, where next morning our party 
di^^ded, one crowd going out a hundred miles or more on the Fort Smith road,, 
and the other on the Memphis road to Forrest City, 95 miles distant. The party 
over the Fort Smith road report having had a good time, hospitable receptions, 
etc. They returned in good time. 

Our party going east saw a variety of scenery, pine forests, cypress swamps,, 
cane-brakes and fine farms, and crossed a prairie which is 90 miles in length, 
and passed several smaller prairies. ' We stopped at several towns along the 
road, where the citizens had gathered with specimens of their products to show 
us — fruits, grain, etc. — as fine as 2a\j State can produce. The road was in poor 
condition, and the cars nearly worn out, and our rate of speed was necessarily 
slow, so that we arrived at our dinner at Forrest City after three o'clock. An 
address of welcome was delivered by Mayor Pope, which was responded to by 
Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, in a very ill-timed political speech of the "independent 
people's party" sort, after which we were conducted to the hotels and fur- 
nished with such good dinners that we were all in good humor again. Car- 
riages and saddle-horses were placed at the disposal of the crowd, and the time 
till sunset was spent in seeing the surrounding country. In company with Col. 
Cobb, of Forrest City, and mounted on a fine saddle-horse, we rode out about 
three miles, through a continuous line of finely cultivated, rich farms, with 
comfortable and neat residences, showing not onl^^ that the country is capable 
of producing good crops, but also that the citizens there are industrious and 
intelligent. 

We started from Forrest City on our return to Little Rock just before dark, 
and in about nine hours reached our place of destination, having made but 
about nine miles per hour, partly on account of the bad road and partly occa- 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 309 

sionecl by hot boxes, which threatened several times to burn up the cars, and 
which had to be cooled off. It is but just, though, to state that this road is 
being rapidly repaired and placed in good condition. 

At Little Kock we took the cars for home, arriving at Arcadia for dinner at 
two o'clock Sunday, got a good dinner and plenty of it, and that evening got 
home safe and sound. 

Taken altogether, our trip was a very pleasant one, and will be long remem- 
bered. At every place we stopped we were very hospitably entertained by the 
citizens, who seemed to regret that our short stay permitted them to do so Uttle 
for us. There is an immense quantity of rich land in the State of Arkansas, 
unsettled and uncultivated ; thousands and thousands of acres being close to 
railroads, and offering cheap homes to the thousands of poor people who inhabit 
the more densely populated States of the Union. Wherever the wild vegetation 
has been subdued by cultivation, and the warm rays of the sun have had a 
chance to evaporate the surplus water, the country seems to be as healthy as 
any, and we saw but few indications of sickness among the people. Land is 
cheap, ranging in price from |1 to $10 per acre, and that owned by the Cairo 
& Fulton Railroad Company can be had on such easy terms that no man need 
be too poor to secure a home. 

In the excursion party were several persons who had never been in the South 
before ; had never seen cotton growing before, and had entertained very 
erroneous opinions of the people of the South. They were, consequently, 
astonished at every turn, and their astonishment could only find vent in offering 
resolutions and making speeches, and the frequency of these outbursts and the 
delay occasioned by them got to be very annoying to the few Missouri editors, 
who, with characteristic Missouri modesty, were kept in the background by 
their more brassy brethren from Chicago and other Northern cities ; but we will 
not complain, since it only gave us a chance to study the character of others 
besides the citizens of Arkansas, with whom we already felt pretty well 
acquainted. 

We have not space to refer particularly to those to whom we are indebted — 
citizens of Ai-kansas as well as fellow-excursionists — for courtesies shown and 
information given, which added to the pleasures of the trip, but will hereby 
thank them all collectively. To Messrs. Loughborough and Mills we owe a 
debt, which we will endeavor to pay in the proper way. We hope that the 
excursion may result as profitaoly to them as it has pleasurably to us. 



310 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



From the "IRON COUNTY REGISTER,," IRONTON. 



"W. G. DILTS, Correspondent. 



In fulfillment of my promise I will proceed to give a slight sketch of the 
resources and capalDilities of the State of Arkansas ; the conclusions arrived at 
through personal contact with many of its most intelligent citizens, and the 
advice we would give to those in need of a place where they may surely and 
easily make a comfortable living. 

Arkansas was originally a part of that vast region of country purchased of 
France in 1803 ; organized as a Territory in 1809, and admitted into the Union 
in 1836 as the twelfth State. Occupying an advantageous location in the 
temperate zone, the characteristics of soil and climate are similar to those fouiid 
in both Northern and Southern States. The State is a beautiful admixture of 
hill, plain, prairie and wood-land, and is one of the best watered States in the 
Union, having not less than 10 rivers so arranged as to intersect nearly everj^ 
portion of the State. It also has about 3,500 miles of navigation ; thus furnish- 
ing cheap transportation to the various industries which are rapidly increasing 
within its borders. 

Timber is found of many different varieties, and in the greatest abundance ; 
in fact, it is in many places only too abundant for the rapid progress of the 
settler. Yet it is often the case that the timber found upon the land will pay 
for the land and the clearing, leaving the land as a clear gift ; in rather a bad 
shape for farming, however, on account of the numerous stumps remaining, but 
the farmer is in a great measure compensated for this inconvenience by the rich- 
ness of the soil. Its immense pine forests, covering about one-tenth of the area 
of the State, will in a few years become of great value, both by reason of this 
timber being so rapidly removed from the more thickly settled portions of the 
West, and the increased settlement of this State will make her forests available 
to those portions of the country which, being exclusively prairie, have not this 
necessary adjunct to civilization. And it will not be many years before the 
large importations of lumber from Michigan and Minnesota to Kansas, Missouri 
and other Southwestern States will cease, and the forests of Arka,nsas will be 
drawn upon in their stead. 

The climate of Arkansas during the greater part of the 3^ear is mild and salu- 
brious ; in parts of the State there is what is called the sickly season, which lasts 
two or three months ; but with proper care and clothing, much of the sickness 
now prevalent may be avoided. It has been the custom among the poorer 
classes to wear only cotton clothing at all seasons of the year ; whereas they 
might, with no additional expense, and but little trouble, obtain small flocks of 



MISSOURI CORKESPO>rDENCE. 311 

sheep, and thereby provide for themselves woolen clothing, which would be 
more conducive to health, and much more effectually protect them from the 
sudden changes of temperature which occur here as in all latitudes. 

Snow or ice is rarely found, and plowing may be done every month in the 
year. Garden crops are abundant, and are never nipped by the frosts at an 
untimely season, nor eaten up by the grasshopper at any season of the yeav. 
With a delightful climate, abundant water, rich alluvial soil on the bottoms, and 
vast forests of timber on the hills ; with coal, zinc, lead and iron under the sur- 
face, we do not see what greater inducements could be presented to tempt and 
amply reward the immigrant, whether he select agriculture, stock-raising, fruit- 
growing, mining, or any other of the numerous profitable and growing industries 
of the countrj^ Nature has done wonders for this country, and all that is now 
needed is for man to begin where nature left off, to tickle her valleys and plains 
with the plow and hoe, and cause them to laugh with the most bountiful harvests. 

Cotton is the principal product of the farms, or plantations, though all other 
crops are raised with equal facility and certainty. Cotton is uniformly a 
success, and bears from one to one and a half bales per acre, which is worth 
from $60 to $100 ; this compares favorably with the Northern farmers' c: op of 
80 bushels of corn pei" acre, worth from $16 to $24. The crop for the .resent 
year is a good one, and is raised mainly on lands which have been in cultivation 
for 50 or 60 years without rest or recuperation of any sort. The great mistake 
of the majority of Southern farmers seems to have been the raising of cotton 
to the exclusion of almost all other products. A farmer, whether he have 100 
or 1,000 acres, will put it all in cotton ; it is true he usually gets a fair price, 
but he always pays two prices for many of his necessaries, and often more for 
his luxuries. For instance, they pay 25 cents per pound for bacon, and $12 to 
$14 per barrel for flour, which they could certainly raise for less than half that 
amount. Of course there are many progressive farmers who have passed this 
point, but we heard of many who yet cling to the traditions of their forefathers, " 
which seem to have said raise cotton, first, last, and all the time. 

Capital has every inducement to make profitable ventures. 

The public school system is in no danger from the encroachments which seem 
to threaten its existence in some of the Eastern States. This bulwark of the 
people's liberties is in this State most securely guarded ; compulsory education, 
which is the only practicable plan in any age or country, is provided for in its 
statutes. It is also provided that whites and blacks shall be educated in sepa- 
rate schools, which we also take to* be a wise provision. 

Arkar.sas is in many respects a new State. Before the war its improvement,^ 
like some other of the Southern States, was retarded by slavery. It was 
ravaged and almost depopulated by war. Its people were scattered, and its 
plantations laid waste ; but the rapidity with which it is rising from its ruins 
speaks volumes for the resources of the country and character of the people 
remaining, and those who have lately gone into the State. 

Among those most energetic, and striving hardest for the advancement of 
their State, we find many lately from the North ; and those who had become 



312 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

well-nigh disheartened with the bad condition of the country a few years ago 
seem to have imbibed new energy from the example of their Northern brethren ; 
yet, where all seem alike interested in its progress, and all work in harmony as 
they seem now to do, it is needless to determine who is most in earnest. 

Hon. J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, have for 
sale much of the best and cheapest lands in the State, and will, upon applica- 
tion, give valuable information to those seeking homes. The energy which 
they exhibit cannot fail to inspire a like energy in all with whom they come 
in contact. 

In conclusion we would offer a word of ad^dce to those proposing to emigrate 
to Arkansas or any other State. In the first place, determine as nearly as you 
can the part of country in which you desire to locate ; this you may do by 
means of correspondence and other means of inquiry ; then obtain special rates 
over the railroad, which are granted all immigrants, and visit in person the 
place or locality you may have in ^dew. Do not, like too many, take your 
:families and strike out at random, trusting to chance to bring you out all right ; 
Ibetter far that j'^ou leave them at home for a year or more, while you go and 
23repare a home for them. 



FROM THE "ST. CHARLES GOSSIP." 



CHAS. GATZWEILER, CORRESPONDENT. 



Tuesday, September 28th, there started from St. Louis, b}^ invitation of 
•Senator J. M. Loughborough and T. B. Mills & Co., of Little Rock, a company 
of over 100 gentlemen, representing the press of the Northwest, and bound for 
a trip through the great but comparatively unknown State of Arkansas. A 
^special train of five Pullman pala- e sleeping cars and one elegant day coach left 
i;he depot of the St. Louis, Iro'i Mountain & Southern Railroad at nine o'clock 
in. the evening, and while tb'~, men from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas 
-and Missouri slept, they v^ are drawn swiftly, over the smooth road southward, 
and when morning came :^hey looked upon the level, heavily timbered land of 
Northern Arkansas. The train sped on through the forest, broken only by small 
clearings, where the settlers had erected clusters of dwellings, until Walnut Ridge 
was reached, and there the party partook of breakfast. And there began, over 
the smoking hot meal in the little hotel, the state of sociability and good fellow- 
•-ship that ripened at the State capital, and grew stronger as the knights of the 
quill went on their way, and were warmed by the balmy atmosphere and cheered 
Iby the proverbial hospitality of the South. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 313 

All the forenoon the special train pushed southward through the growth of 
forest from which timber is sent to the Pacific slope, and past the settlement and 
cleai'ings in which grew fine crops of corn and cotton. Sixty-five miles from the 
northern boundary, the excursionists saw the thriving village of Newport, on 
the site of which there Avas not a single house two years ago. At Judsonia tne 
stars and stripes were on the depot platform over a bale of cotton, the emblem 
of which all could see the meaning. At this place is located the Judson Univer- 
sity, a thrlAdng school. A few miles back from the railroad is Searcy, the county 
seat, where are sulphur springs, wl^ich form quite an attraction. Here the 
indications all point to a state of peace, prosperity and plenty, but it is by no 
means our intention to dwell upon the condition of the covintry through which 
the excursionists passed. Natui-e has been so generous in her bestowals here 
that he who travels by the fast express may read. The Iron Mountain road 
passes over, a smooth wooded country, only diversified by beautiful streams, 
which will aflTord outlet in days to come for the great wealth that is to reward 
the tiller of the. soil, the artisan and the manufacturer. If we were pleased with 
the country through which we passed on that beautiful September day, some 
stronger word must be used to express our feelings in regard to Little Rock. 

"the city of roses." 

As the train slackened speed and passed over the bridge of the Arkansas and 
through the suburbs, a fine \iew was aff'orded of the town and its picturesque 
surroundings. At the depot the excursionists were greeted with music and 
cheers, and the large assemblage of citizens extended a hearty welcome to all. 
The entertainment here was by a number of leading citizens of the place, and 
the Northern editors found all and more than they had been led to expect by 
the most accounts of Southern travelers. There was a hearty warmth in the 
manner of our treatment from the moment we landed on the depot platform 
until the party left the city. It was not the hospitality made up of the many 
little cold conventionalities of etiquette, but a perfectly natural, sincere enter- 
taining, the characteristics of which are best described in the word politeness, 
when we use that word in its finest and broadest sense. We went among entire 
strangers, and with some slight hesitancy, but we doubt if there were a dozen 
men out of the hundred who, when traveling, were ever made to feel more 
thoroughly at home. It was all done, too, without the least assumption to 
pretension, and it is, perhaps, not strange that we have come to beheve that the 
people of the South have really a finer knowledge of what constitutes hospitality 
than those of the North, 

In the afternoon the visitors rode to all the principal points of interest in and 
about Little Rock — the Government Cemetery, St. John's College, the State 
Prison, Fair Grounds, . State Arsenal, etc. Little Rock is a beautiful city. It 
is finely situated on the bluff, on the south side of the river, and the country 
stretching away to the west and south is rolling and diversified. Lying high as 
it does, it has good natural drainage, and is entirely free from the malarious 
diseases that are sometimes prevalent in those localities which are lower. The 



314 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

streets are well laid out and need but little improvement, and a drive through 
and about the city is a rare treat, both on account of the scenery and elegance 
of many of the dwellings and public buildings. The business streets have a 
fine appearance, and the retail stores do a good business, as do also several 
wholesale houses. There are a number of manufactories, but they are not 
equal to the demand, and it is probable that this branch of industry will be 
largely augmented in the coming few years. Little Eoek wears an appearance 
of general activity, and there are indications even in the style of the buildings 
that its inhabitants are live men. In the last decade the city has quadrupled 
its population. In 1865, at the close of the war, it contained only about 5,000 
inhabitants, and now it has 20,000. 

All of this growth, it must be borne in mind, has been going on not under 
favorable circumstances, but under a condition of things the very reverse of 
propitiatory. It should be remembered that the war, nominally ended in 1865, 
did not actually close in Arkansas until a twelve-month ago, and that the State, 
and particularly the locality of the capital, were perturbed and disturbed almost 
constantly. With the drawback of all this great disadvantage, Little Rock has 
done wonderfully. She has triumphed over adverse circumstances which would 
have weighed down and ruined many cities with the same advantages of fine 
water and other connections. Now the war feeling is well-nigh dead, and 
though there are a few fossils who retain distinctly the impressions made 
upon them ten and fifteen years ago, the great majority of citizens in this 
Southern town will extend a hearty welcome to the Northern man who comes to 
abide with them. 

MESSRS. T. B. MILLS & CO. 

Prominent above the active men of Little Rock are the gentlemen who 
compose this company of land agents, the publishers and proprietors of the 
Spirit of Arkansas. Mr. Mills is an Ohio man, a native of the county of 
Ashtabula, but for the past 16 years has been in the West and Southwest. 
He was one of the foremost in projecting and carrying out the plan of the 
excursion, and accompanied the party to St. Louis, becoming, by his ready 
and pleasant address, acquainted with every member of the party. The office 
of the company at Little Rock was a rendezvous for the excursionists, and 
we, in common with others, passed a very pleasant hour in the free reading- 
room connected with the office, and in the Chamber of Commerce, examining 
the agricultural and mineral collections made by this enterprising firm. Here 
were to be found specimens of what can be raised in Arkansas — cotton, corn, 
the cereals, fruits, etc. — in great variety and in excellent condition. The 
mineral collection was also quite complete and very interesting. Messrs. Mills 
& Co. made the collection by offering premiums for the best specimens in 
the various classes, and they got together hastily a melange of the crops with 
which the country smiles. Nearly all the specimens that are preservable will 
be sent with others to the Centennial. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 315 

_ A BIG BANQUET, 

and a model one in all respects, was that which the citizens of Little Rock pre- 
pared for the entertainment of the editors on the evening of September 29th, at 
Concordia Hall. There was, by the way, something very happy in the happen- 
ing of the name of the place in which hosts and guests sat down to dine. It 
was eminently proper that this meeting of representative men of the North and 
South should be in concordia. The whole affair was marked by concord and 
good feeling, and the speeches on both sides could not have been more expres- 
sive of such feeling if their makers had all taken for theu- texts the legend upon 
the front of the building in which they assembled. Most of the prominent men 
of Little Rock — and Little Rock is a city of noteworthy men — sat down to the 
bountifully laden board with their guests, and the company numbered not far 
from 250 persons. Nothing was wanting to make it an elegant affair, and the 
banquet was one of the happiest entertainments of the kind that ever was given 
in the Southwest, and one for which the Committee of Arrangements deserve 
the utmost praise. The table bore the choicest viands and the rarest vintage ; 
excellent music was discoursed, and the toasts were responded to in a manner 
that is seldom if ever excelled ; Northern, Southern and Western orators vied 
with each other in eloquence and wit. Senator Loughborough presided, and 
the address of welcome was delivered by Gen. R. C. Newton. Among those 
present who spoke during the evening were Mr. Robinson, of Indiana ; Col. T. 
B. Mills, of Little Rock ; Judges U. M. Rose and T. D. W. Yonley, Hon. W. 
W. Wilshire and U. D. Cole, of Indiana ; Chief Justice English, Gen. J. M. 
Pomeroy, Gen. A. W. Bishop, Col. R. A. Howard, and others. There were 
also among the prominent guests Col. Thomas Essex, of St. Louis, and Col. G. 
W. Hered. 

It was not until a late hour that the speech-making was concluded and the 
guests took the train at the depot, all enthusiastic in their praises of the gentle- 
men and ladies of the " City of Roses," and the princely welcome they had 
extended. The excursion party awoke next morning in 

MALVERN. 

Here we breaWasted, and then by the courtesy of G. P. C. Rumbough took 
the narrow-gauge railroad now in process of construction to Hot Springs. This 
road, which will cost when completed, with the necessary rolling-stock, about 
$325,000, is the private enterprise of Joe Reynolds, a Northern capitalist. 
After a ride of seven or eight miles on this road the party left the train, and in 
a few minutes the whole number had been transferred to the seats of the various 
vehicles in waiting to transport them to the Springs, It was only a few minutes 
before the procession started on its winding way, and 

A NOVEL SCENE 

was then afforded the few who were there to see. The people of Hot Springs, 
had furnished on short notice means of travel for over 150 persons, and to do 
this they had been compelled to press into service almost everything that had 



316 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVllLERS. 

wheels and could be drawn by horses and mules. The caravan was a motley 
one, and as the glance wandered along the line of the strange procession it 
rested on stages of the El Paso line, stages of the independent line, ambulanises, 
carriages, Avagons from the Ai-k collection and some from — well, no one knew 
where. There was no dissatisfaction, however ; there were no invalids in the 
crowd ; they were all healthy, and at that particular time happy men, and if they 
had received the information when they jumped from the train that they would 
be obliged to walk, the throng would have resolved itself instantly into a com- 
mittee of the whole on walking, and walked without more ado, through the 
forest and over the mountains, up and down long hills and through unbridged 
streams. The road was a rough one, and it was more than once that every 
individual editor made sundry extravagant gestures which were purely uninten- 
tional, and several times the occupants of the covered carriages appeared as if 
trying to punch holes through the tops with their heads. Still jollity reigned 
supreme and every jolt produced a joke. The woods rang with laugh and 
song" as they never did before, probably, in the history of Arkansas, and the 
inmates of the few log cabins in the occasional clearings invariably watched the 
passage of the procession with unmeasured astonishment. The scenery at some 
points was magnificent, and it was always interesting. The timber, the heaviest 
that we saw in the State, was principally pine and white oak, though there were 
nearly all of the less common growths, too, and the shade of the big trees over the 
narrow winding road was very grateful. When the party had traveled what was 
generally considered about fifteen miles, they were told they had gone but five, 
and when they arrived at the Springs there were few men who could be made 
to believe they had rode but fifteen miles. Six hours was occupied in the 
journey, and when it had been concluded and the excitement was gone, fatigue 
made itself felt in some degree. A little way out from the village of our desti- 
nation the caravan was met by a large cavalcade of citizens, who escorted the 
party into town. 

HOT SPRINGS 

village lies in a narrow valley, Avhich is contracted at either end until it becomes 
a gorge. Through the centre of this valley runs one broad street, on either side 
of which are the hotels, private dwellings and places of business, occupying the 
few yards of space back to the mountains, while there are a few small buildings 
on the hillside. The street is a straggling one, and most of the buildings are 
decidedl}'^ dilapidated, though the Arlington and one or two other hotels are 
handsome structures of the modern style. The cause of this scarcity of fine 
buildings is accounted for in the fact that the title to the springs and the land 
immediately adjoining is in dispute. When the claims of the rival litigants, the 
Government and certain private parties, are adjusted, and men can read their 
title clear, the sound of the hammer and trowel will be heard in the valley, and 
the spurs of the Ozarks will be crowned with magnificent dwellings and public 
caravansaries. If the problem does not arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, 
capitalists will build upon the nearest available sites, and the temporary build- 
ings alone will occupy the contested property. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 317 

I 

The wonderful thermal springs upon the mountain side, which were celebrated 
in the legends of the Indians and souglit for as the fountain of immortality by 
Pamphilo de Narvaez and Ponce de Leon, and later by De Soto, are now sought 
hy the wealth}^ invalids of the United States, and it is not seldom that the hotel 
registers show the names of those who come from the other world. The fabu- 
lous fame that the springs had in the fifteenth century has been dispelled, under 
the light of later day intelligence, and in its stead has risen a reputation based 
upon scientific medical knowledge, and thousands verify every season what has 
been said of the wonderful cures effected here. 

Up the mountain side, in the rear of the principal hotels and baths, are the 
hot springs, 50 or more in number, the waters of which are bathed in and drank. 
A subdivision of our party is escorted about and shown the sights by Dr. Moor- 
head, a man whose ready knowledge extends far outside of that required in the 
practice of his profession. We see the water foaming forth in large streams and 
small from the fissures in the volcanic rock, and see pools where the poorer in- 
valids bathe. The water from some of the fountains will boil an egg in eight 
minutes. The temperature is 154'^ Fahrenheit. All around are the little openings 
in the stone mass from which the water • bubbles as clear as crystal, and from; 
which vapor floats away on the gentle breezes of the valley. After a little 
urging we drink a cupful of water from the " arsenic" spring, as hot as break- 
fast coffee, and are surprised to find that it is not only agreeable, but that it 
satisfies the thirst. Those who go to the springs for treatment drink the water 
freely, generally while in the bath, and every invalid has a " ral " can which 
holds about a quart. Analysis shows the presence in the water of a proportion 
of carbonic and silicic acids, with some sulphuric acid and chlorine, potash, soda, 
lime and magnesia. No salts or gases are found which cannot be produced in 
the laboratory, and what composes the remedial value of the springs is a matter 
of conjecture with scientific men. That there exists some subtle element which 
is a wonderful force in the cure of disease is known,. but it is another and alto- 
gether more difficult matter to decide what that subtle element is. 

Many theories have been advanced by scientific men and visionaries to account 
for the formation of these springs, and able arguments have been given by all 
classes in support of their several hypotheses ; but it is generally conceded that 
volcanic action has had more to do in producing the result than any other 
agency. One of our party, who was "not a good judge of water," advanced 
the somewhat novel and very startling theory that the high temperature of the 
springs is due to the close proximity of that place devoted to our future punish- 
ment, which all strictly orthodox people believe to exist somewhere. He thought 
that the earth crust was thinner here than elsewhere, and that in consequence 
the water was heated by the infernal fires. As the only argument he advanced, 
however, to maintain the correctness of this supposition was that the waters in 
some places tasted very strongly of sulphur, we were not at all convinced. The 
water in all probabihty percolates to subterranean cavities, where it is heated 
and driven by the vapors generated, back to the surface. It is still difficult, 
after accepting this as the most natural conclusion, to account for the great 



318 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



,Ji^ 



variation in temperature of springs which bubble from the rock only a few paces 
apart. Upon the opposite slope of the mountain, only a short distance from 
egg-boiling springs, the water is of the ordinar}^ temperature. 

We take a luxuriant and refreshing bath, and proceed to the Arlington for 
supper — supper of the genuine Southern style, appetizing and delicious. In the 
evening the editorial guests were complimented with a grand ball and reception 
banquet at the Arlington Hotel, and ' ' the beauty and the chivalry ' ' of Hot 
Springs earned many compliments for the manner in which they entertained 
their visitors. The sounds of revehy continued to the small hours of the morning. 
Hot Springs has two metropoHtan institutions — a street raih-oad running to the 
park and through the entire valley village, and a live daily paper, the Telegraph. 
In the morning most of the visitors spent some time in seeing whatever of the 
place they had neglected on the day before, and we rattled off over the uneven 
road, leaving behind us the sun-lit summits of the Ozark Hills, with their groves 
of pine and cool, refreshing shades, carrying with them only pleasant recollec- 
tions of the picturesque scenery and the bountiful hospitality of the inhabitants 
of Hot Springs. Down there in middle Arkansas, near the valley of the Ouachita, 
some time, a city of no mean pretensions will grow up, and the curative properties 
of the waters will be as widely known as those of any watering-place in the 
land. Hot Springs will be the Bath or Baden-Baden of America, the resort of 
the sick and of sight-seers — of wealth and fashion. 

The drive back to the railroad was as interesting as the ride over, and to the 
half-dozen in the leading wagon perhaps more so, for having a slow team, and 
wishing to maintain the advance, they were compelled to blockade the road in 
various places with huge trees. The return was accomplished without incident 
of note, except one runaway down a long hill by which a horse was wounded, 
and in which several men narrowly escaped injury. The animal's misery was 
ended by a pistol-shot, and the wagon train moved on ; every turn in the road 
revealing a new landscape of varied and glorious beauty. 

At Malvern the party again took the splendid excursion train and went south- 
ward to 

ARKADELPHIA, 

where the people had prepared a mammoth barbecue dinner, and had roasted 
three beeves, six sheep, and several shoats, together with a variety of game. 
A quarter of a ton of flour had been baked into bread. Appetite was whetted 
by novelty, and at the long tables, in the pine grove, the editors ate as hearty a 
meal as the same number of men ever could. The ladies in attendance were, 
in all probability, convinced that Northern men have excellent appreciation of 
the good things which they showed themselves competent to prepare in such 
abundance, and we think they were also favorably impressed with what they 
saw of Northern gallantry. Arkadelphia is a go-ahead town of 2,500 popula- 
tion, the centi-e of a fine agricultural region, and has some very creditable 
l3uildings, though there are many which are very shabby in appearance. After 
dinner a large number of citizens, both ladies and gentlemen, joined the excur- 
sion, and the train sped along the road a number of miles south, to give the 



MISSOURI COliRESPONDENCK. 3 19 

strangers a view of the cotton-fields. To most of them it was tlie first time 
they had ever rambled in a cotton-field, and the novel experience was ver}^ 
pleasing. It was six o'clock, and the darkies could be seen carrying their 
baskets of cotton to the pens to have them weighed. They pick from 100 to 
300 pounds per day, and get 75 cents per hundred weight, or 50 cents and their 
board. The yield in this vicinity was from a bale to a bale and a half per acre. 
The crop brings about $75 per bale. 

On returning to Arkadelphia a public reception was tendered at the Reames 
House, Judge H. B. Stewart being President. Col. Gaulding delivered an apt 
speech of welcome, and then there was a general firing of lofty eloquence which 
redounded to the credit ' of both North and South. The expressions of the 
Arkansans teemed with good feeling and loyalty. Gen. Bishop, of Little Rock, 
referred to the feeling which existed 10 years ago, and contrasted it with the 
present. Col. Thompson spoke of the fine qualities of the soil, and compli- 
mented Senator Loughborough and Col. T. B. Mills, who had invited the 
attention of the Northern editors to the State. Judge Stewart said that the 
universal desire in Arkansas was for complete reconciliation, and Gen. McMillan 
had a few words to say of the richness of the Ouachita valley, expressing the 
hope that immigration might be encouraged until all of the lands were taken 
up. On behalf of the excursionists responses were made by Sidney Thomas, 
of Chicago, Mr. Robinson, of Fort Wayne, and Rev. W. A. Clark, of Elkhart, 
Ind. Further remarks were made by Senator Loughborough, and at a late 
hour the excursionists returned to the cars, and the morning of Saturday found 
"US again at Little Rock, partaking of a breakfast at the Railroad Hotel. 

At Little Rock the editors found invitations awaiting them to make trips over 
the Little Rock & Memphis and the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroads, and 
as there was not time for one train to make both runs, the party was di^4ded. 
About one-half of the excursionists went each way. 

The day the party separated (half going toward Fort Smith, the others to 
Memphis), we remained in Little Rock, where, as most of our people know, 
several of our former citizens are now located, and are well pleased with their 
new homes. We spent most of our time with Capt. Rottaker; he has risen 
to ' ' Colonel ' ' down there. He is at present Sherifi", and is about the most 
popular man in Little Rock. 

II. 

A journey through Arkansas is no longer attended by perils and hardships, 
Bor are the people a rude, uncivilized and dangerous class, and yet a popular 
opinion has prevailed that the commonwealth is a land which has nothing but 
the backwoods and barbarian elements of life ; that the country is an unbroken 
wilderness, and its people an untutored horde typified in the characters met 
by the original " Arkansaw traveler." It was with, the purpose of correcting 
this erroneous impression and of disseminating a knowledge of the actual condi- 
tion of the State, that the editorial excursion partj'' was organized and traveled 
through the country. The excursionists, to be sure, did not find everywhere the 



320 THE KEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

indications of thrift which Ohio, Indiana and Illinois exhibit ; they did not find 
. the broad lands so plentifully dotted with white villages, but they did find a 
state of peace, prosperity and plenty. From Moark, upon the Missouri border, 
to Arkadelphia, in the valley of the Ouachita, and from the Mississippi river went 
to a point near the boundary of the Indian Territory, they saw everywhere the 
results of loyal citizenship, honest toil and friendly feeling. Ai'kansas has been 
sorely tried, but it has passed through the ordeal, and the delay in the develop- 
ment of its resources cannot be longer continued. The days of disruption are 
passed away forever, and the time has come when the news from this portion 
of the great Southwest will be, not of deeds of violence, but of the progress of 
many enriching enterprises, and the State will become known as it has never 
been before. That the people are 

THOROUGHLY RECONCILED, 

and that they expect and desire immigration from the Northern States, we had 
ample opportunity to learn. 

AGRICULTURAL W^EALTH. 

The lands of Arkansas are diversified into lofty mountains, elevated plateaus,, 
roUing prairies and rich bottoms, aff'ording facilities for the raising of almost 
every crop known either to the North or South. The climate is salubrious, and 
hence cotton, the vine, and semi-tropical fruits are easily grown. We saw the 
famous Ouachita grape, which has been transplanted to France, growing in 
abundance, and we saw the rich fields white with the heaviest cotton-crop that 
has been known for years. Much of the farming is done in a very slovenly 
manner, but the returns are large, even when the ground is half-tilled, and there 
is conclusive evidence that more work would in many cases double the reward of 
the husbandman. A prominent gentleman remarked, in a speech at one of our 
stopping-places, "God has done everything for us, but we are so lazy. We 
want Northern energy." There is much to induce the farmer to go to Arkan- 
sas in the low prices of land. A farm of 3 60 acres, which in Minnesota would 
cost $2,400, would cost only one-fifth of that sum here. Houses and timber 
are cheap, on account of the great plenty of fine timber. 

Of late years much more attention has been given to the cultivation of 
Northern crops, including all the cereals, than formerly, and although cotton is 
king, a great deal of money is taken out of the soil in the form of corn, wheat, 
oats, potatoes, and other food crops. Of the small crops and vegetables, two 
crops can be raised in the year, and farmers can labor 10 months out of the 12 
with good returns. Farming, however, is not the only means of money-making 
in Arkansas. 

MINERAL AND TIMBER LANDS 

demand a share of attention, for in them is to be found a great fund of future 
wealth. The forests of the northern portion of the State, broken only by 
occasional clearings, are full of the very finest timber — pine, oak, walnut, 
hickory, cypress and cedar being the principal kinds. The southern and western 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 321 

parts of the State and the mountainous regions are equally well timbered, and 
the wood alone is worth more than the assessed value of. the whole State. 

It has often been said that Arkansas has greater mineral wealth than any 
other State, and hazardous as the statement first appears, it is borne out by 
figures. Coal, iron, lead and zinc are found in large quantities, and the first 
named is the most extensively deposited. The principal mines — the Ouita and 
the Spadra — are situated on the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad. The Ouita 
is 70 miles from Little Rock. Cars loaded at the mine can be delivered in St. 
Louis, Memphis, or any part of Texas, as the Fort Smith Railroad connects 
with the Memphis and Iron Mountain roads. The anatysis of the coal shows it 
to be semi-anthracite and of the best quality. Satisfactory tests have been 
made in iron foundries, on railroads and steamboats, and everywhere the Ouita 
coal is found to be all that is required. The Spadra mine, situated 30 miles 
farther west on the same road, produces the same coal. In each mine the vein 
is nearly four feet thick. Within a very short space of time the gap needed to 
connect the Fort Smith road with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, at 
Fort Gibson, will be closed, and by that route Kansas and the States north of it 
will be supplied with Arkansas coal. The Arkansas river, which for over 150 
miles passes directly through the Arkansas coal measures, gives a cheap outlet 
that will enable this coal to drive out all rivals. 

There are several rich deposits of iron ore, and lead is found in quantities 
which pay for mining. Capital is needed to develop this mineral wealth, and 
the owners of mines are in many cases awaiting patiently for the arrival of men 
who have means necessary for proper working. Quarries of superior marble, 
granite, whetstone, hone, valuable clays, etc., abound. 

PRICES AND TERMS. 

Various large grants of land have been made to railroads. Most of these lands 
have been held in reserve for a number of j^ears, while the intermediate sections 
have been taken up and improved, and are now occupied b}^ a good class of 
people. The prices and terms at which lands may be had on the St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain & Southern Railroad will serve to show to the farmer what he can do 
in almost every part of the State. The railroad runs almost exactlj^ north and 
south, and on the Texas border connects with through lines for Houston, 
Galveston and other points. Title comes directly from the Government and free 
from encumbrance. Prices of land vary from $1.50 per acre upward, with a 
general average of from $3 to $5 for good farming land. Terms of payment 
are as follows : 

On ten years time, with interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum. First 
payment, at time of purchase, will be the interest on whole amount of purchase 
money for first year. Second payment, at beginning of second year, will be the 
interest on whole amount of purchase money for second year. Third payment, 
at beginning of third year, will be, first, one-ninth of the purchase money •, 
second, the interest on remainder of purchase money for that year, and so on, 
at the beginning of each succeeding 3^ear, one-ninth of the whole purchase 
21 



322 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

money and the interest on the remainder thereof for one year, until all is paid, 
making ten years in all. Terms No. 2 : One-fourth of purchase money and 
interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum on the remainder for one year, at 
time of purchase ; the balance in one, two and three j^ears, with interest at same 
rate, paj^able annually in advance. Terms No. 3 : All the purchase money at 
time of purchase. To those purchasing on terms No. 2, a discount of ten per 
cent, from the price of the land. To those purchasing on terms No. 3, a 
discount of twenty per cent, from price of the land. 

RAILROADS AND NAVIGABLE RIVERS. 

Nearly all of the foreign capital in Arkansas is invested in railroads. The 
State is not so deficient in railroads as has been alleged. It has onty 750 miles, 
but the roads have been judiciousl}'^ built. Of the Iron Mountain road, formerly 
the Cairo & Fulton, we have already spoken. The land grant of this road is 
2,500,000 acres. The Memphis & Little Rock road connects at its Mississippi 
terminus with the road leading to Louisville, Ky., with the Memphis & 
Charleston, and with the Mississippi & Tennessee. The Little Eock & Fort 
Smith road, running up the valley of the Arkansas, is now finished to within 40 
miles on the border of the Indian Territory, and when completed will connect 
with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas at Fort Gibson, and through it with all the 
Western system. The New Orleans, Pine Bluff & Little Rock is complete from 
Pine Bluff to Chicot City, and a gap of only 40 miles remains to be closed. 
Kxtending from Helena, 60 miles west to the "White river, is the Arkansas 
Central, which runs through one of the richest countries of the world. 

Arkansas is not, however, as dependent upon railroads as many other States, 
for it has more navigable rivers than any of them. The Mississippi, St. Francis, 
White, Black, Arkansas, Ouachita and Red rivers have 3,500 miles of good 
na\igable waters in the boundaries of the commonwealth, and commercial 
interests have not been dependent upon railroad transportation. 

Manufactories of all kinds are needed in the State, and their establishment 
has been encouraged by freeing them from taxation for the next six years. 
There are many arguments in favor of manufacturing cotton where it is grown, 
and there is every reason to believe that in the next decade much will be done 
in this and other branches of mechanical industr3^ The abundance and variety 
of timber, coal and iron, as well as the heavy cotton crops, all point to the 
attainment of this end. 

The- system of public schools, planned upon that now in vogue in Ohio and the 
other Northern States, though still in its infancy, is showing the man}^ good 
results that might oe expected. The Constitution requires that the General 
Assembly shall provide by law that every child of sufficient mental and physical 
ability shall attend the public school during the period between the ages of 
five and eighteen years, for a term equivalent to three j^ears, unless educated 
by other meaiis. It is provided that blacks and whites shall be educated in 
separate schools. 



MISSOURI CORRESPONDENCE. 323 



IN CONCLUSION. 



Traveling through the State of Arkansas, devastated by the war and retarded 
in its development by the plundering of a ring of corrupt politicians, we could 
only be struck with the munificent wealth with which God has endowed this land, 
and the spirit of progress that in spite of all obstacles has prevailed. We had 
unusual advantages for studying the institutions and observing the condition of 
affairs in all parts of the State, and after becoming acquainted with its resources, 
we could only admit that if before we had thought ill of the countrj^ it was 
only the prejudice of ignorance. 

In the neat dwellings of the towns and in the log cabins of the forest and 
rolling prairies, we found and conversed with old Southerners and with Northern 
settlers, and all alike spoke in terms of satisfaction and praise. Everywhere we 
saw the first indications of great wealth to be attained in the future. Whether 
the toiler is a tiller of the soil or delves deeper and takes from the earth its 
varied minerals, wealth awaits him. Here are riches, in timber, in crops and in 
coal, but the Stp-te needs men. It needs brain and brawn and energy to develop 
its broad acres. The garden needs tilling, the lode and vein need working, and 
the forest must be utilized. Everywhere the cry is for more men — men of energy 
and men of capital. A prominent gentleman of Little Rock said to me, "We 
want more men like Mills." He referred to the great land agent, who is, per- 
haps, doing more to brighten the future of Arkansas than any other one man in 
the State. It will be largely through his well-directed eflforts that the country 
will be settled by men whose toil shall enrich themselves and the communities 
and neighborhoods in which they locate. Arkansas needs immigration, and she 
is encouraging it by every means in her power. 

HOMEWARD. 

On the morning of Sunday, the 3d of October, the excursion train was speed- 
ing northward again on the road from Little Rock to St. Louis, and the party 
was enabled to see the country which had formerly been passed over in the night. 
We stopped at Arcadia for dinner, and a banner of native cotton was there pre- 
sented to the excui-sionists by the people of Hope. The customary speech- 
making accompanied the presentation, and before resuming our journey three 
rousing cheers were given for Senator Loughborough, when ' ' all aboard ' ' was 
sounded and the train moved on, passing several battle-grounds, among which 
were Pilot Knob, the wonderful Iron Mountain and Gad's Hill, well known from 
the desperate train robbery which occurred there a couple of years ago. We 
reached St. Louis just at dusk, and from this point most of the journalists 
separated for their homes in Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan 
and Ohio, after one of the finest editorial excursions on record. And so ended 
the experience of this band of "Arkansas Travelers." 



CHAPTER XII -OHIO. 



From the "TOLEDO SUNDAY JOURNAL." 



H. S. CKAPIN, Editor. 




^OR YEARS past, perhaps always since its organization, people in the 
North have been led to believe that Arkansas was inhabited by a race 
of border-ruffians, and the difficulties which have occurred during the 
past three or four years have perhaps given occasion for the belief that the 
condition of society there was unsettled, insecure, and affording little protection 
for life, liberty or property. 

It was with pleasure, therefore, that we found in every section of the State 
visited what seemed to be a condition of pei'fect quiet and peace ; a general 
satisfaction with the present State officers, and a cheerful compliance with their 
authority ; and everj^where leading citizens told us that life and property were 
secure, well protected by law, and that there was no terrorism anywhere 
throughout the Statfi. 

In every direction, also, is found cheap and fertile lands, and in many places 
the crops of a single year would more than pa}" the prices asked. For instance, 
on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, 23 miles from the latter place, is a 
large quantity of fine prairie land ready for the plow, which we were told could 
be bought for from $3 to $5 per acre. And on some parts of this prairie we 
saw fields of immense corn. It will also raise cotton, fruit, vegetables,' &c., in 
abundance. 

This is but a single instance, and it is only a fair specimen of what may be 
found in almost every section of the State. And from all we saw and learned 
we are induced to believe that there is no more inviting field for emigration, do 
place where such fertile land, so capable of producing such a variety of crops, 
and so easily accessible to market, can be bought for so nearly a nominal price. 

About seven o'clock Wednesday morning we crossed the Missouri line and 
entered Arkansas at Moark, but nature pays no respect to State lines, and 
consequently the appearance of the country remained unchanged. 



OHIO COKRESPONDENCE. ' 325 

During the morning ti ets liad been issued to the members of the party 
assigning them as the guests of various residents of 

LITTLE ROCK, 

where the train arrived about three p. m. , and found awaiting a large number of 
citizens with a band of music. The excursionists were speedity talven in charge 
by the citizens whose guests they were, and received as generous attention as 
though they had been old-time friends instead of strangers. 

After dinner the time was occupied in riding through the city and suburbs, 
and we noted many attractive residences, surrounded by extensive and well- 
shaded grounds, large and substantial churches, and fine and commodious busi- 
ness houses. The city itself occupies a high and commanding position. No 
more attractive location could be found, and pleasant as the city now is, it 
certainly cannot compare with what it must become in the not distant future, 
when the wonderful capacities of the beautiful country surrounding it become 
better known and appreciated. 

At the Chamber of Commerce Hall were exhibited a large variety of fruits, 
cereals, grasses, and vegetables of all kinds, nearly all of which were of mam- 
moth proportions. We have not space to enumerate, but it is safe to say that 
most of the specimens exhibited exceeded anything .which we had ever seen, or 
even read of being raised in the United States outside of California. There 
were also specimens of woods, several of which are not found in the North, and 
which present a beautiful appearance when manufactured into furniture, without 
coloring, as was demonstrated' by samples of work exhibited. 

THE BANQUET. 

In the evening a banquet to the visitors was given by the citizens. The 
occasion proved so pleasant, and time passed so rapidly, that it was two o'clock 
before the assemblage dispersed, when the excursionists, accompanied by a 
number of citizens, proceeded to the train, went to sleep, and were started 
en route for 

HOT SPRINGS. 

This is literally a town with one street, that, with residences and business 
houses on either side, occupies all the space between the mountains, which rise 
on either side to the height of several hundred feet. There are a number of 
fine hotels. The town and springs are on a government reservation, and people, 
in buying and selling real estate, only give and receive a quit-claim title. The 
temperature of diff"erent springs varies ; in some the hand can be held without 
inconvenience, while a small one, far up the mountain, was barely warm. Dif- 
ferent springs contain different properties ; there are the arsenic spring, the iron 
spring, and the magnesia spring, so named from the impregnation of the water. 
The former is the favorite drinking spring of the Arlington Hotel, and although 
too hot to swallow rapidly, is nevertheless pleasant and agreeable to the taste. 

The excursionists were quartered at the different hotels, and after dining the 
remainder of the day was passed in visiting the springs and other points of 



326 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

interest. In the evening a reception and hop was given at the Ai'hngton and 
Hot Springs hotels. 

The party returned to Malvern next day, and started thence to Ai'kadelphia, 
where a barbecue dinner had been spread and awaited us. Returning to the 
train, the party, accompanied by a number of ladies and gentlemen of Arkadel- 
phia, went a few miles southward to the cotton-fields, where some time was 
spent in gathering information and picking cotton, after which the train returned 
to Arkadelphia. 

Friday evening, October 1st, the train started northward, and arrived at Little 
Rock next morning. After breakfast the writer joined the eastward-bound 
party over the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, arriving at Forrest City about 
three p. m. A couple of hours were passed in driving into the surrounding 
country, where is found some of the finest farming land in the State. The 
party returned to Little Rock Sunday morning, and thence started northward, 
arriving in St. Louis about seven o'clock. 

The excursion throughout was a most pleasant aff'au*, was well managed, 
afforded all participants excellent opportunities for acquiring information, and 
was unanimously voted a success. 



From the " SUNDAY MORNING VOICE," CLEVELAND. 



GEORGE F. MARSHALL, Correspondent. 



The editorial excursion proved one of the most enjoyable of the season. 
It proves to our hesitating and doubting people that the natural and adopted 
Bons of Arkansas have a wonderful heart for generous liberality. Upon the 
arrival of the excursion train at Little Rock each grave and venerable editor 
was shown to his carriage and driven to the various private houses where they 
were assigned. Your representative had the honor to fall into the hands of Mr. 
Loughborough, and left no cause for Mrs. Loughborough to regret that we did 
not pay proper respect to her sumptuous repast. And then we "did" Little 
Rock in the shades of the declining sun, driving up and down, hither and 
yonder, where all points of interest were clearly pointed out to us, and the 
beautiful city was interlaced with the tracks of our carriage, and a happy day 
closed with one of the grandest banquets ever beheld by him who banqueted 
on your account. 

You may depend that some one has been telling wrong stories about these 
men of Arkansas. So far, there could not well be a more honorable set of 
men, or men of more intelligence, than those we have met. The}' greet their 
Northern brothers with a hearty good will, and have fairly become reconciled 



OHIO COKKESPONDENCE. 327 

to the things that are, and express a determination to bring out all the hidden 
resources of this great and growing State. All they need is men and money, 
and Arkansas will take rank with the best. She is full of rich mineral, and has 
a soil and climate equal to any. 

I had supposed that the genuine native would go for a Northerner as soon as 
he smelled him out, bowie-knife and revolver, and all such, but I could not be 
more badly mistaken. Just come down and look at them once, and you will be 
astonished at their deportment. They are just like any good specimens of 
humanity, only a vast improvement upon the average. They are determined to 
bring Arkansas up to her proper standard. 

We pass through a wild and new region from the time we . strike the State, 
on the Iron Mountain Railroad, until within say 50 miles of Little Rock, when 
the gay and bright cotton-bolls glisten in the sun, and make quite an attractive 
field of beauty and value — the first pod or boll of cotton your representative 
ever beheld in its native soil. They look like rows of yearling raspberries, but 
for the vast quantity of bursted pods of pure white down, like large snow-flakes 
interspersed — and that is cotton. All along the line of railway for many miles 
above Little Rock, the stations, which are quite numerous, are surrounded with 
huge bales of cotton. Many of our sage editors from the North had never 
seen the like before. Along the railway corn is seen in many places among the 
slashes or girdlings, growing to a great height. Huge ears were brought to the 
cars by curious excursionists, which even astonished the natives from Egjq^t. 

Boxes of native Arkansas wines were broken along the entire line, and many 
a bottle was unstoppered and drained and pronounced good. Just let me say 
that I have not told enough about that banquet upon the evening of our arrival 
at the capital of the State. There was no stint about it ; everything that jo\i 
could desire to eat and drink was there in the greatest profusion, and the 
attendance was complete. 

Lands are here offered for a mere song, w^hile their capabilities are trulj^ 
wonderful. It is quite singular that they have not been sought for heretofore, 
but the unfortunate State has had heaps of misfortune since the war ; but she 
is looking up bravely now. The spirit of enterprise has got a good tight hold 
of her people, and they are working things up rapidly to a point of usefulness. 
Look at the railway she has put through and is now active^ putting into 
operation. The St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad is one of their greatest 
arteries, of great value and need to the State, and she has been doing her best 
to bring the State to her proper standard. The old order to the young man to 
" go west " should be changed to a 45 degree order, and it should be, "young 
man, go southwest." 

We took our sleeping-cars, waiting for the party to do all the banqueting 
they desired at Concordia Hall last evening, and went to sleep, and when well 
asleep an engine was hitched on and we were drawn down to Malvern, a town 
of some moment, 45 miles below or south of Little Rock. Here we changed 
cars for a narrow-gauge road, in a rapid state of construction, running from 
Malvern to Hot Springs. We had a bumping 18 miles to the Springs, in hacks 



328 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

of all sorts and over a road that hundreds of invalids can testifj^ to the iips and 
downs of — a busy trip to these now famous hot springs, but it was worth all it 
has cost. Here we find the most remarkable set of springs in this wide world ; 
they have the reputation that no other waters have, and it is a simple matter of 
history that scores and hundreds have been perinanentty cured by those astound- 
ing waters. Right out of the clefts of the rocks gush hot waters of wonderful 
magnetic properties, that appear to take the rheumatism right out of a person 
if he can bathe and drink the water. The town is crushed in among the hills, 
and about 50 hot springs come bubbling out of the rocks, having a temperature 
of 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. I have bathed in and drank of the magnetic 
waters, and feel like a flash of chain lightning, so to speak, and I shall be 
thundering back over the rugged road a new creature to-morrow. Close by a 
hot spring comes a cold one of quite different properties, an iron spring, or 
water strong with an u-on taste ; then there is a spring which has a trace of 
arsenic, containing just enough of that propertj^ to take the freckles and tan 
and unnatural dark color which sometimes takes hold of a person's face. 
Women come here spotted all over, and go away very elegant beauties, at least 
I have good authority for all this, and now I am afraid the hotels will be overrun 
with people of freckles, if they hanker to have them removed. 

The excursion party, upon reaching Little Rock, was treated to a most elegant 
and substantial banquet. It was observed by all who had a chance to see that 
there was no spare room on the tables ; plates and platters and dishes were 
crowding each other from one extreme to the. other, and every dish was heaped 
in lavish pyramids of edibles that could be so conformed ; while at about every 
individual plate was not only a bottle of their superb native wine, but the wired 
and foiled corks of a companion bottle to each of these unmistakably announced 
the presence of imperial champagne. 

Every one ate their sufficiency, and they drank a little coffee, no water, and 
immensely of champagne, and then the speeches were never more appropriate, 
never better received. It was a happy occasion. To detail the remarks would' 
make this epistle far more elegant, but it would spread it beyond your permitted 
limit. The speech of welcome was most apt and to the purpose ; it was the as- 
suring voice of a true son of Arkansas that we were heartily welcome to their 
State, that all their local trouble was at an end, that utmost peace prevailed, 
that the people everywhere were using all their power to build up all the lost 
prestige of the State, that all were contented with the administration of their 
State government, and he invited every one to come and look into the resources 
abounding on all hands, hoping that by these means people will be induced to 
€ome to Arkansas and settle, bringing with them all the means the}'' have at 
command to make the State what she is entitled to be — inferior to none in the 
Union. 

Here is what Arkansas has to offer : A soil unsurpassed ; a climate mild and 
healthful ; a people with no hostile differences of opinion ; mountains filled with 
minerals ; valleys with far-reaching navigable rivers ; an eastern border swept 
by the Mississippi ; western bounds reaching to the fertile Indian Territory ; a 



OHIO CORRESPONDENCE. 329 

soil and climate ample for cotton ; a State equal to any for producing the cereals ; 
springs which have more living witnesses of their healing properties than any 
others in the world. And, not last nor least, they can produce better wine than 
all France or Italy. 

These are what Arkansas offers to the whole world. For some cause, this 
great State, vast in resources, has been measurably overlooked by the people 
who go out into new fields. She lies where the eye does not appear to catch a 
glimpse of her while looking over the map. People have gone otherwhere and 
passed by this gem, not knowing that she has the best that any State can offer 
in all the elements that a prosperous State needs. 

After midnight that banqueting party broke up and silently stole to their 
couches in the Pullman cars, and after the last man had tucked himself away 
an engine drew the excursion party to Malvern, where they got their sleep out 
by breakfast time, when, after partaking of a refreshing breakfast, set out on 
flat cars upon the new portion of the Hot Springs narrow-gauge railroad, headed 
for those famous waters. The chronics and rheumatics that were distributed 
among the wayward editors was not much, but the spring was all-important to 
be beheld. Perhaps eight or ten miles of road had been passed over, when our 
train dashed backwards through the forest, up and down grades, and winding 
through the hills, making every particular hair raise hideously, and arrived at 
the last laid rail, and here were a score of teams, with all sorts of vehicles. The 
greedy Bohemians went for the best appointed conveyances, and for five miles 
there never was a wilder set of bumped editors on this continent. It was a 
newly-traveled road, and the managers desiring to exhibit as much of the rail- 
way as possible, had taken this route as the mos,t desirable. We had good 
attendance— vanguards of horsemen all along the line to help, if needed ; and I 
think it well to say that I never saw a more beautiful sight than the one where 
we dashed down the steepest and roughest bit of this mountain than to see our 
horsemen, with the stately Rector mounted on his noble gray, cautiously stand- 
ing by the road-side until every wayward editor had passed the dangerous cliff. 
I thought well of that tall son of Arkansas. 

It was a day of jubilee when that dusty cavalcade drove into the village of the 
spring, and some who knew nothing of the coming thought it a traveling circus 
with tents. The party were settled at the hotel, and many were astonished, when 
they came to take a cool wash, to find that all the pitchers had red-hot water in 
them. We had not been seated at our hotel when a card of invitation to a hop 
at the Arlington was received. We went, and you can place your hard-money 
dollar in a wager that the most fashionable of your Northern hops could not 
make a better display of fashion or beauty. I speak not here of the dowdy and 
dusty editors, but of the j^oung and beautiful ladies. It was a grand success, 
and every one voted it so. 

By some means Mr. Loughborough inveigled small squad after small squad 
into private rooms, and there was many a bottle of native Seuppernoug broken, 
and its contents emptied with many a smack of happy and contented lips. 

It is proverbial that the cuttings from these grape stalks have long since gone 



330 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

to France, and have become the desirable grape of that well-posted land in things 
elegant and palatable. 

That party arose betimes upon the following morning, and after a long delay 
and a good breakfast, set out for their return. We got well back to the narrow- 
gauge at a more accessible point, and back to Malvern in due time. It was in 
the plan to dash down to the borders of Texas, taking a look at the noble cotton- 
fields on the route. But we were invited to take part in an old-time barbecue at 
Arkadelphia, where the men and women of the town gave us a hearty welcome. 
I think those hungry editors ate about a yoke of oxen, a large stye of pigs and 
a drove of sheep, judging from what was on the ground when we entered there, 
and subtracting what was left when we went out of the field. 

From thence we took a large number of Arkadelphians and steamed down the 
line towards Texas, when we came abreast of a plantation, alive with men and 
negroes picking cotton. The entire party of Northern editors swarmed out 
upon that cotton-field and beheld a new vision, that of picking cotton. All 
were engaged in the work, from the little piccaninnies to the great big darkey. 
I could not but note the style of dress which many of these little fellows sported 
in ; it was simple in the extreme, and yovi could behold the rich black skin be- 
neath in spots, indeed in quite sizeable spots. Then away beyond that clump of 
trees comes up a happ}' chorus from another band of cotton-pickers ; it was sweet 
music, and we all wanted more of that sort. 

It grew dark, and the planter kindly gave any one permission to pull up any 
cott-on plants they chose to take home, and about every one picked out his 
plant, and the baggage car was strewn with this great staple of Arkansas, in- 
tended to be taken far North to astonish many a person who had never seen the 
like in this section or elsewhere. 



FROM THE "TOLEDO COMMERCIAL, 



F. J. OBLINGER, Cokkkspoxdent. 



At three o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, September 30, the editorial 
excursionists reached Hot Springs, and after dinner and rest, rambled over the 
huge bluffs that hem in the city, drank of the bubbhng hot waters, and " took 
in" everything of interest in drives up and down the valley. 

The city is full of hfe and bustle, with all the vim and energy of a thriving 
Western town. It is snugly situated in a valley, which is 600 feet above 
tide-water, according to recent surveys, and hemmed in by mountains on 
either side, 400 feet above the valley, or 1,000 feet above tide-water. A clear, 
beautiful mountain stream from 20 to 30 feet wide, commences at the head of 



OHIO COKKKSl^ONJJENCE. 331 

the valley and traverses its entire length. Through the town this is almost 
entu'elj^ walled in with stone, and is spanned at intervals ynth substantial 
bridges, thus affording easy access from one locality to another. A street 
railway runs almost the entire length of the place, and with the numerous 
bathing-houses, and well-conducted hotels, the metropolitan facilities afforded 
visitors in this mountain retreat is truly a matter of pleasing surprise. 

The population of the place is estimated at about 4,000, and there are probably 
as many more visitors from all parts of the country, attracted thither by the 
health-imparting properties of the renowned Hot Springs. There are several 
first-class hotels. 

THE HOT SPRINGS. 

Of the many phenomena to be found on the American continent, these 
springs may be ranked among the most remarkable. The}' are rapidly becoming 
celebrated on account of the wonderful medicinal properties they possess, and 
of the many remarkable cures they have effected among some of the most 
excruciating ills that human flesh is heir to. They will not allay the stings of 
remorse, or the qualms of a guilty conscience, but they possess in a remarkable 
degree many of the \drtues which are attributed to that fabled fountain of 
youth which Ponce de Leon so long and patiently searched for. All the water 
coming from the mountain on the east side of the valley is hot, and that from 
the west mountain is cold. On every side there are e\ddences of volcanic action 
from the fissures made, by which the hot water flows rapidly and abundantty 
at the rate of 334 gallons per minute, or 480,990 gallons every 24 hours. 

A reception was given in the evening at the Ai'lington House. At an earty 
hour the following morning the entire party bid adieu to Hot Springs, and 
by stage and the narrow-gauge railroad, reached Malvern about three o'clock in 
the afternoon. 

AKKADELPHIA. 

We reached Arkadelphia, 22 miles south of Malvern, about five o'clock. Here 
was provided for our entertainment an old-fashioned barbecue. After this we 
visited the extensive cotton-fields several miles south of Arkadelphia, occupying 
the celebrated black lands of the State. Here cotton jdelds from a bale to a 
bale and a half per acre, and the soil is as productive in corn, wheat, potatoes 
and fruits as it is in cotton. 

In the evening we returned to Arkadelphia, where a public reception w^as had 
at the Reames House. Much good feeling prevailed, and the tenor of all the 
speeches was that we ai'e all one people, and the ho^^e was expressed that the 
two sections of the country would be mutually benefited by this interchange of 
good will. 

]\Iuch fatigued, we repaired to the sleeping coaches, and at daylight found 
ourselves at Little Rock. 

LITTLE ROCK & FORT SMITH RAILWAY. 

This road is completed about 120 miles from Little Rock, and passes through 
some of the most beautiful valleys in the West, all along the Arkansas river. 



-332 THE NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELEES. 

Along this railway many thriving little villages are springing up and some of 
the best lands that can be found anj^where can be purchased at prices raifging 
from $1.50 to $40 per acre. The best of timber land can be had at $4. 

AT SPADKA, 

ten or fifteen miles bej^ond Clarksville, we stopped and made a coal mine 
exploration. By means of a steam elevator our party went down the shaft, 45 
feet below the surface of the earth, and then wandered off into a tunnel, in a 
stooping posture, probably a quarter of a mile, emerging from the subterranean 
region on the bank of a beautiful little stream. In the shape of coal, old mother 
earth has untold wealth in her keeping in this region, and they were taking 
out coal in large quantities. This coal, too, is of a superior quality, it is 
remarkably clean, and in burning produces no flying cinders, is almost entirely 
■consumed, and the residue is white ashes. 

ON THE RETURN, 

we found at Russellville a superb supper and banquet, and after the usual 
speeches, resolutions, «S:c., the party again boarded the train and reached Little 
Rock far in the night. This virtuall}^ ended the excursion. 

ARKANSAS. 

The State has now a thorough^ established government, and peace, good 
order, good feeling and security prevail. The new Constitution guarantees 
equai rights and privileges to all persons. Taxation for State purposes can not 
be made to exceed one per centum of the assessed value of the property. The 
support and maintenance of free schools is made obligatory. 

The lands of Arkansas cannot be surpassed in fertility by any on the conti- 
nent. Much of its soil has been under cultivation year after year for half a 
century past, aud the vitality of the soil has not perceptibly diminished. The 
rich loam of its black and prairie lands ranges in depth from 20 to 50 feet — a 
fact which is almost unparalleled in any other portion of the country. Wheat 
yields, in many instances, as high as 50 bushels per acre, and will weigh five 
pounds more to the bushel than Northern wheat. In the rich bottom-lands 
cotton yields from a bale to a bale and a half per acre. Wheat, rye, oats, 
barley, potatoes, hay, tobacco, and all the products of the Northern and Middle 
States, yield here in rich abundance, and . her climate is such that two, three, 
and sometimes four crops are raised on the same ground in the same season. 



in variety and abundance grow here to perfection. Apples, pears, peaches, 
cherries, apricots, figs, grapes, and the smaller fruits, grow luxuriantly through- 
out the State. They are remarkable, too, for their excellent quality, fine flavor, 
and the perfection of their growth. Here they develop early and reach a perfec- 
tion not to be attained in the Northern States. It is no uncommon thing to see 
apples ranging from 16 to 22 ounces each, and pears from 20 to 30 ounces, while 



OHIO CORRESPONDENCE. 333 

peaches grow to mammoth proportions and wonderful perfection. In fruit cul- 
ture it is certainly destined to become the Garden State of America, rivaling the 
far-famed fruitage of the Golden State on the Pacific coast. Old residents of 
Arkansas, gentlemen of truth and candor, say there has not been a failure in the 
fruit crop of that State for the past 30 years. 

Grapes grow here to perfection. In variety and fine flavor they certainly can- 
not be excelled in the far-famed vine-lands of Europe. Indeed, the much boasted 
grape of southern France and Italy is a native of Arkansas, and was transplanted 
from that State at a veiy early day. The manufacture of wine, although yet in 
its infancy, will eventxiall}- become an important matter in the industry of the 
State, and no finer wines are produced anj^diere than now emanate from several 
wine-presses in the Ouachita vallej'. 



Probabty the finest varieties of timber that can be found anywhere in the 
United States ai-e here. Her forests possess a wealth as yet unknown. There 
are no less than 18 species of oak and 10 of walnut and hickory. Ash of various 
kinds, locust of both kinds pecan, sycamore, cypress, wild cherry, mulberry, 
gum, beech, holly, poplar, sassafras, persimmon, maple, pine, cedar and elm 
are not only found, but abound in quantity and quality equal to any demand, 
and are admirabl}^ adapted for all kinds of manufacturing purposes. 

MINERALS. 

Perhaps no better idea can be had of the mineral wealth of the State than the 
following extract from the report df the Commissioner of tlie United States Land 
Oflice. In speaking of Arkansas he says : 

" It possesses also great mineral wealth in the bituminous coal and ores of 
zinc, iron and silver-bearing galena. The mineral wealth lies in vast beds 
of anthracite, cannel and bituminous coal, iron, lead, manganese, g^^^sum, zinc, 
salt and building stone ; the lead ore containing silver in quantities sufficient to 
defray the expenses of working ; the zinc product ranking next to that of New 
Jersey, and the gypsum greater in quantity than in all the other States of the 
Union. ' ' 

Certainly in no State are stronger inducements offered for the development of 
mineral wealth, or with so large a probability of remunerati'S'e success, as in 
' Arkansas. 

The people invite Northern emigration, and stand ready to give a hearty wel- 
come and a hospitable greeting to all .who may come. The asperities engendered 
by the war of the rebelUon have passed awa}', and those who go to Arkansas to 
make it their future home, and take with them the necessary pluck, enterprise 
and capital to assist in the development and prosperity of the State, will nowhere 
in the United States find a more generous-hearted, whole-souled, hospitable 
people to bid them welcome. 



834 THK NEW ARKANSAS TKAVELERS. 



FROM THE "ELYRIA REPUBLICAN 



W. H. FISHER, Correspondent. 



From general report, we had expected to find a lawless set of people inhabit- 
ing Arkansas, but were exceedingly surprised to meet with straightforward, 
honest, hard-worldng, law-abiding citizens, wherever it became our lot to stop ; 
and by strict attention to their business, they will soon lift from the State the 
name she has borne since the war. All they need is help in the shape of good, 
healthy, industrious people to clear the mighty forests, till the vast amount of 
rich soil, and unearth the boundless treasures of mineral resources, and one day 
she Yv^ill stand second to no State in the Union. The Indians, who are just over 
the line, are friendly, and hundreds of them come to Arkansas every year to 
pick cotton, etc. 

THE SOIL, 

after leaving St. Louis, is rather light, but, passing through the State, becomes 
more rich and heavy. Not much prairie land is found east of Little Rock, but 
upon striking a distance of 20 miles west, it is splendid rolling country to 
Fort Smith, abounding with luxuriant pasturage, and capable of raising an end- 
less amount of fruit and produce, grain and cotton. Very little rocky soil is 
found except in the valleys. 

THE CLIMATE 

of Ai'kansas is mild and salubrious. Sudden changes of temperature are less 
frequent than in the Eastern States in the same latitude, and cases of sun-stroke 
and headache from heat are rarely known, as in the summer it is no warmer 
here than it is in the Northern States, and in the winter the thermometer rarely 
marks lower than 10 degrees below zero. 



Arkansas abounds in valuable timber in all sections, and the revenues from it 
are of the first importance, constituting the base of great wealth yet to be 
realized in the improvement of the State. The yellow pine forests predominate, 
covering about one-tenth of the area of the State. The pine grows principally 
on the uplands, attains to great size, and'is very valuable. Several varieties of 
oak abound and attain large proportions. Cabinet woods occur in abundance, 
of which the black walnut, cherry and maple are the most valuable. Besides 
these varieties there are the ash, hickory, gum, beech, pecan, sycamore, elm, 
Cottonwood, cedar and black locust, with an undergrowth of spice, pawpaw, 
hazel, cane and large grape-vines. Arkansas has untold wealth on her surface, 
in live growth of forest trees, sufficient to make her lumber interest of great 



OHIO CORRESPOXpENCE. 335 

importance. All that is required is tlie hand of the settler to develop this wealth, 
and then Arkansas can supply her less favored neighbors of the West with cheap 
building and other material. 



Arkansas is beyond doubt the best watered State in the Union, ha\dng nearly 
3,000 miles of inland navigable waters, so distributed that they intersect nearly 
every portion of the State, and afford steamboat facilities the greater portion of 
the year 

ITS MINERAL RESOURCES 

are beyond estimation — coal, iron, lead, zinc and associate metals, together 
with marble, gypsum, salt, hone and whet-stone, granite, etc. In speaking of 
coal mines, it may be well to notice that passing from Little Rock to Fort Smith 
several coal mines were passed and one explored, which proved to be an excellent 
quality of anthracite coal; also Col. A. P. Curry's bank, located 116 miles from 
Fort Smith, in which they are at present working a vein four feet and two inches 
in thickness, of the best coal for blacksmith and steam purposes. At Hot 
Springs a clear crystal is found, which, when worked up into jewelry, cannot be 
distinguished by an ordinary judge from the diamond. They are found in all 
shades, together with agate and imitation of amethyst, which are worked up at 
the Springs, and present a beautiful appearance. 

PKOBUCTS. 

Cotton has been the staple product for many j^ears, but of late corn and 
wheat have received considerable attention, and are found to yield a better 
income to the farmer. 

Corn yields from 30 to 50 bushels to the acre, and grows to an enormous 
height. Stalks often measure 12 feet and ears 18 inches. 

Potatoes grow abundantly, and as the season is long, have plenty of time to 
mature, while the sweet potato is ^ right at home " in Arkansas, and have been 
shown to us weighing five pounds. 

Peaches and pears are almost a sure crop, and are of excellent flavor and 
large size. 

The wOods abound with many varieties of wild grapes, which are gathered and 
made into excellent wine. 

Gardening seem to be favorite pursuit, and indeed it might be, for at Lewis- 
burg we were shoAvn a cucumber weighing 64 pounds— which beat any water- 
melon we have ever seen ; while a specimen of Japanese peas, growing 200 
bushels to the acre, were also on exhibition. 

Stock-raising will eventual!}^ become one of the leading occupations, as the 
winter is short enough to admit of their running at large the entire season, while 
the lands abound with excellent grasses. 



336 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



FROM THE "CONSTITUTION," ELYRIA, 



B. F. MAN:n^, Correspondent. 



Arkansas has a glorious future, and all she now wants is capital to develop 
her resources. Extensive and rich coal deposits have been found, and some of 
them developed, while others are but waiting the advent of the capitalist to 
render up their stores of dormant wealth. The coal taken from the mines has 
proved to be of the best quality. Two mines are now in successful operation on 
the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad. Iron ore has been found in many- 
portions of the State, and in some instances, as we saw at Spadra, on the Fort 
Smith road, in connection with coal. Arkansas has ample means of transporta- 
tion, having 3,500 miles of navigable rivers, and some half-dozen railroads, 
which connect with all the principal roads of the South and Southwest, as also 
with the Northern and Western roads, at St. Louis. Arkansas is not only 
unequalled in her mineral deposits, but is a rich field for the patrons of 
husbandry, ' ' where the harvest is great, and the laborers few. ' ' The golden 
stream of Pactolus is ready to flow into everj^ farmer's pocket. With very poor 
farming the wheat crop this year is far above the average in the Northwest. All 
the small grains can be cultivated in this State, with less labor and expense than 
in the North, Beside the products already enumerated, T. B. Mills & Co., land 
agents at Little Rock, have on exhibition at the St. Louis Fair specimens of the 
grains and grasses that can be suocessfull}^ grown in the State, and " as seeing 
is believing, and feeling the naked truth," we can say that we examined some 
of them, and found wheat six feet high, with six-inch heads, well filled ; oats, 
seven feet high, with heads 18 inches long ; red clover that cut four tons to the 
acre ; timoth}';, five and a half feet high, yielding four tons to the acre ; red top, 
four feet, high, gi^'^ng three tons to the acre ; blue grass, four and a half feet 
high ; orchard grass, five feet high, and yielding three tons to the acre ; Hun- 
garian grass, four feet high, from the second crop this 3^ear ; cornstalks, one 
19 feet high, and another with twelve ears on it, five of which were 11 inches 
long.. Apples, plums, apricots, peaches, pears, and other fruits, all reach their 
highest perfection with but little attention. Timber is plentiful, and of all 
varities--ash, hickory, gum, beech, sycamore, cottonwood, cedar, and black 
locust, together with an abundance of pine and oak. The State is well watered, 
springs and creeks abounding in every count}". The climate is mild and pleas- 
ant ; the winters are very short ; they have no bleak winds, no sudden changes 
of temperature, no deep snows. Plowing may done in every month of the year ; 
garden crops are planted early, potatoes and peas often in February. Vegeta- 
bles are plenty in market in April, and last until Christmas, Avhen their GO days 
of winter begins. 



OHIO CORRESPONDENCE. 337 

We do not hesitate to declare our firm conviction that Arkansas is now one 
of the most inviting of our States, for agricultural, mining, and manufacturing 
pursuits. Ye lovers of a genial clime ; 3'^e husbandmen who desire to feast your 
eyes upon full garners ; ye seekers after good society and kind neighbors — go to 
Arkansas. O, Arkansas! Yours is a grand and promising future ! Who dare 
gainsay the glory of thy greatness ? Who can conceive of the immensity of 
thy wealth, which now lies hidden in the bosom of Mother Earth? This is not 
a paradise, "for there has been n,o paradise found since Eden was lost;" but, 
reader, go and see for yourself, you will not find our picture overdrawn. Rich 
lands, good water, a genial clime, and a hearty welcome await you. 



FROM THE "AMERICAN PATRON," FINDLAY. 



J. K. BARND, Editor. 



In minerals, timber, and agricultural productions, Arkansas will equal, if not 
surpass, any other portion of our country. Throughout the length and breadth 
of the State, so far as we were able to traverse it, we find a mild and salubrious 
climate, and we were informed by the citizens that sudden changes of tempera- 
ture are very uncommon. The days are warm, and the evenings cool and 
pleasant — so mugh so, in fact, that at any season of the year it is necessary for 
comfort to have a, plentiful supi^ly of covering ; the heat of the day is Hot 
enervating, from the fact that at nearly all hours there are pleasant currents of 
air sweei^ing through the valleys and over the mountains and prairies. We did 
not suff"er as much with the heat at 80 degrees wMle in the State as we would 
farther north when the thermometer marked but 60 degrees. All in all, we 
would say, as far as climate is. concerned, it is a most delightful country. 



It is a remarkably healthy district, and malignant diseases are almost entirely 
unknown. In the bottom-lands the people are more or less subject to chills and 
fever, but in the more elevated portions cases of this kind are rare. Pulmonary 
complaints are said to be almost unknown, except in case of persons who come 
into the State already afflicted. 

THE SOIL 

is very fertile and productive, and embraces almost every variety known, com- 
prising bottoms and hill-sides, the greater portions of which are subject to fair 
cultivation. 

TIMBER. 

We do not know exactly what to say in regard to timber, for here it abounds 
in almost inexhaustible quantities and varieties — oak, walnut, cheriy, maple, 
22 



338 THE NEW AKKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

ash, hickory, gum, Cottonwood, beech, ehn, cedar, holly, and particularly yeljow 
pine, which covers a vast proportion of the State. This timber is easily accessi- 
ble, and well distributed throughout the State. 

PRODUCTS. 

Almost if not altogether everything grown North will do well here ; in some 
parts, of course, better than others. Corn, wheat, rye, barley,, oats, grasses of 
various kinds, potatoes and vegetables of all kinds. The great staple, however^ 
has heretofore been cotton. 

Fruit of all kinds does exceedingly well. Apples, peaches, plums, pears, 
grapes, and in fact all the small fruits are grown to great perfection. As a 
sample of what can be grown in Arkansas we have brought home the following 
specimens : oats, six feet six inches high ; Hungarian, millet, timothy, red-top, 
and other grasses, in proportion ; fine samples of different grades and qualities 
of wheat and flour ; corn, single ears of which weigh from one pound to one 
pound four ounces, and measure from nine to twelve inches in length, picked 
at random; apples weighing from 10 to 21 ounces each. The great beauty of 
their frviit is that it is almost perfect, worms being almost unknown in apples. 
We were unable to bring other specimens, but our friends can see what we 
have by calhng at our office, unless they wait until we are tempted to devour 
our fruit samples. In 

MDiTERAL RESOURCES 

Arkansas is equally rich, but we have only space to give a partial list of what is 
found mthin her borders, among which may be named iron, lead, zinc and coal, 
and other metals associated with each of the above. In m%ny parts of the 
State are quaiTies of granite, limestone and freestone. At Hot Springs, and 
we believe at other points, are great quarries of the finest honestone in the 
world, which finds a ready market in all parts of this country and Europe. 

SOCIETY. 

We found, ^Tpon observation and investigation, that as healthy a state of 
society exists as can be found in any part of our great country. People are 
generally noted for their hospitality and liberality, which we saw exhibited 
almost to a fault. True, in some portions of the State there is a kind of 
brusqueness which marks the character of the frontiersman, but underneath you 
will find the milk of human kindness flowing freely. A person is perfectly free 
in his enjoyment of liberty and the pursuit of happiness in such channels as he 
may see fit to foUow. Life, liberty, happiness, and the pursuit thereof ai'e as 
secure as in any part of the United States. Persons are as free to express their 
opinions, whether religious, political, or otherwise, as one could wish, and we 
can assure any of our friends who may desire to change their location that they 
will be perfectly free and safe in traveling through any portion of the State of 
Arkansas. 



CHAPTER XIII -WISCONSIN. 



From the "MILWAUKEE DAILY COMMERCIAL TIMES." 



W. H. BISHOP, Correspondent. 




||F THE picture of life and manners in Arkansas depicted in the classic 
story of the Arkansas Traveler was ever in the slightest degree correct, 
how greatly have times changed! The Arkansas Traveler, it will be 
remembered, searched for a lodging-place after a hard day's drive. He came 
upon a man sitting in the door-way of his log cabin playing on the vioUn. 

' ' Can I get to stay here all night ?' ' asked the Arkansas traveler. 

" You kin git to go to h — 1 !" said the genial native, continuing his tune. 

We have been treated with a cordiality which, as compared with Northern 
standards, is astonishing. Nothing is held back. No sacrifices of time and 
convenience are considered too great, and no expressions of warm welcome too 
extreme. The residents of Arkansas are actuated by a genuine and enthusiastic 
desire to draw attention to the hitherto n.eglected resources and attractions of 
their State, and bring to it if possible the stream of immigration which has 
hitherto set too much into other channels. We find their hands, their hearts 
and their houses wide open. 

The sensation of the journey for the most of the party was the first sight of 

GROWING COTTON. 

An accurate idea of its appearance can De conveyed to those who have not seen 
it, by comparing it to a field of maple or silver poplar sprouts, three or four feet 
in height, upon which a sprinkhng of heavj-- snow-fiakes has fallen. Arkansas 
IS particularly fortunate in her capacity to raise this most valuable of all crops, 
and m addition she produces almost all the staples allotted to the temperate 
zone. Good land yields an average of a bale to the acre. At present prices 
this would be worth about $75. 



340 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



THE BROOKS-BAXTER TROUBLE. 

At a distance we cannot appreciate how perfectly this formidable disturbance 
was quieted. There seems to be not the slightest rankling or trace of bitterness 
remaining. The participants are all on the best of terms. Brooks is now post- 
master of Little Rock. 

POLITICS. 

The old party organizations are wilting awaj*. There are scarcely any longer 
any Democrats or Republicans. The control is being taken by a young and 
vigorous element, for which Reform is the proper title. They are disgusted 
with fraud, violence and extravagance. They have secured peace ; now they 
want to secure economy and honest management in every department. 



FROM THE "MILWAUKEE DAILY NEWS." 



CHAELES JONAS, Cokrespondent. 



Some of the leading Republican papers of the North kept up a shameless 
system of misrepresentation of Southern affairs in order to mislead Northern 
voters. Mr. H. H. Rottaken, late officer in tlie Union army, now sheriif of Pulaski 
county, informed me that we in the North have no conception of the extent to 
which the rascally misrepresentation in home Republican journals had been car- 
ried. As an instance he named a Chicago paper, which at one time asserted 
that fifteen murders had been committed in Pulaski county, in a single month, 
from political motives. Mr. Rottaken was sheriff of the county at that very 
time, and within his knowledge only one murder occurred, and that one had no 
political signification at all, being the result of a drunken brawl. I could name 
other instances of the same sort, which I learned from authentic sources, but 
I must refrain; not to trespass too much upon your space and the reader's 
patience. 

Having had the pleasure of an introduction to Mr. Hadley, late Republican 
GovernoT of Arkansas, I had an houi"'s chat with him, and learned a good many 
surprising things from that gentleman. Among other things I inquired, " Do 
you believe. Governor, that the white people of the South would be in favor of a 
re-establishment of slavery, if that question was put to a vote?" / 

' ' NOT ONE IN TEN, " 

said Mr. Hadley; "probably not one in a hundred. Such things as slaver}'-, 
secession and Southern war debts are settled and played out forever, and every- 



WISCONSIN CORKESPONDENCE. 341 

body knows it. It is all nonsense to say that the success of this or that party, 
for instance the Democratic party, would ruin the nation. I am a Republican 
even now, if there is any in this State ; but, I say it frankly, that in mj^ opinion 
the old Republican party should go down for many reasons. I do not desire 
office, as I proved by my refusal of a re-nomination to the Governorship, and 
my opinions are not influenced by any hankering after political favors." 

I give the Governor's words as near as I Can. He said, among other things, 
he had no real difficulties during his administration ; sometimes Northern dema- 
gogues tried to create trouble where there was none. Once a special correspond- 
ent of a great New Yoi'k paper (I believe he named the Tribune), together 
with the United States Marshal, tried to incite the negroes near Memphis to kick 
up a row, in order to have an item so much desired by 

THE NORTHERN REPUBIJCAN PRESS. 

From all the information I could gather in Arkansas, it is evident that peace 
and quiet reigns throughout the State ; that life and property are just as safe as 
in any Northern State ; that the Southern people desire emigration from the 
North, not of carpet-baggers who come like buzzards to feed upon a carcass, 
but of honest farmers and business men, to help develop the resources of the 
State by their labor, energy and enterprise, and to reap the legitimate fruits of 
their own industry ; that such emigrantsi from the North, irrespective of their 
political opinions, will find a hearty welcome among the Southern people, who, in 
point of hospitality and open-heartedness, have indeed no peers upon the entire 
American continent. I know all this from Northern people who settled in 
Ai'kansas since the war, and who are generally doing remarkably well ; man}^ of 
them, in fact, are rapidly growing rich, which is especially true of numerous 
business men in the city of Little Rock. 

BUSINESS PROSPERITY DEPENDS ON THE SOUTH. 

Now the full development of the immense resources of the Sunny South is in 
the interest of the whole nation ; nothing can do more towards establishing a 
favorable balance of foreign trade than the increase of Southern production, and 
the productiveness of the great Southern States is practically unlimited. Con- 
sequently, everything that tends to perpetuate mistrust and dissension in the 
South, to foster hatred and jealousy between North and South, is unpatriotically 
Republican^in a word, treasonable. I do not wish to speak as a partisan, but 
simply as a citizen who has the good of this great country at heaft, as a man 
whose life and family are indissolubly linked with the fortunes of this nation ; 
and I say deliberately, that men and papers seeking to periDetuate the ascendency 
of the Republican party by creating discord, nourishing sectional hatred and 
outrageously misrepresenting the feelings, aims and desires of the Southern 
people, are, consciously or unconsciously, nothing less than 

PUBLIC ENEMIES AND TRAITORS. 

Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., publishers of the Spirit of Arkansas, at Little 
Rock, are probably doing more for the material and intellectual development of 



342 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Arkansas than any other similar agency in the State. I take pleasure in com- 
mending their valuable publication to all citizens of Wisconsin who wish to 
acquaint themselves with the condition of things in Ai'kansas, especially with a 
view to making it their future home. The rich lands and mild climate, the sunny 
sky, beautiful scenery and vai-ied productions of Arkansas all combine to make 
that State one of the most desirable locations for the settler. An energetic and 
enterprising Northerner is almost sure to grow rich as a producer of cotton or 
wheat, raiser of stock or fruit, as manufacturer or business man of any kind. 

Persons suffering from rheumatism, neuralgia or other afliiction, will be 
cured by the 

WATERS OF HOT SPRINGS, 

to which place a narrow-gauge road is being built, and will be finished before 
Christmas, from Malvern, on the main southern line ; and they will find the 
Waverly the coziest and most comfortable hotel the glorious Southern sun ever 
shone upon. There is hardly any winter to speak of in Arkansas, and for many 
of our Northern people it would be more desirable to spend the winter months 
at Hot Springs, by reason of the unrivaled curing qualities of its waters, than 
anywhere else. 



CHAPTER XIV -PENNSYLVANIA. 



FROM THE "PITTSBURGH ADVANCE." 



WM. E. NEWMYER, Editor. 



Energetic men with some means is all that Arkansas wants to make 




her one of the first States in the Union. Her lands are fertile, paying 
y^jsgQ^pjAi any farmer a handsome return, who is not too lazy to work ; her lands 
are rich in coal, iron and other ores. All that now is needed is energy to develop 
enterprise, to determine ways and means, with a reasonable amount of capital 
invested, which must surely make handsome returns. 

THE OBJECT OF THIS EXCURSION 

has been explained before, so we need add little, if any, more in this connection. 
The benefits of making such a tour of exploration, which have been so clearly 
demonstrated by the experience of the editors all along the route, will spread 
throughout the most remote sections of the Northwestern and Northeastern 
States, and the results to the country will be fully realized in coming years, 
when the State of Ai'kansas shall have been granted that position in the Union to 
which her natural resources justly and truly entitle her. 

IRON ORE. 

Arkansas can, with full truth, boast of her rich deposits of iron ore ; the 
hematite, magnetic, specular, and other varieties, are found in seeminglj^ inex- 
haustible quantities. Other 

MISCELLANEOUS ORES, 

such as lead, zinc, manganese and associate metals, together with marble, 
g}T^)sum, salt, slate, limestone, granite and marl, are found in locahties as varied 
as these valuable articles of trade exist in quantity. 



344 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



COTTON 



is the great staple. The cotton county embraces about 10,000 square miles, 
or 6,400,000 acres, a part of which has never been placed under cultivation. 
We were told that the cotton crop for 1871 was estimated at 300,000 bales, 
worth from $75 to $100 per bale. 



GRA.IN AND VEGETABLES, 



such as corn, wheat, oats, rye and barley, Irish and sweet potatoes, peas, tur- 
nips, «fec., are successfully raised, being superior in almost every sense to the 
same articles produced by the States further north. 

FRUITS 

are grown in an over-abundance. It is seldom that this product fails. Our 
Northern apple, peach, pear and cherry flourish in this State, along with many 
fruits belonging to the tropics. 

COAJ.. 

Of this valuable article we would speak at considerable length, did space per- 
mit. The coal fields embrace an area of 12,000 square miles, or 7,680,000 acres. 
The valley of the Arkansas river, in which section the most extensive coal mining 
has been done, contains beds that are said to run from three to ten feet in 
thickness ; the coal is somewhat similar to that found near Cumberland, in the 
State of Maryland, near the boundary line. It is an excellent article of fuel for 
manufacturing and household purposes. 

RAILROADS. 

The railroads passing through the most fertile portions of the State are the 
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, the Memphis and Little Rock, and the 
Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroads. The grants made by the Legislature to 
these roads and their branches, aggregate several millions of acres. Most liberal 
terms are oflTered by the officers to all who are prospecting for a homestead, both 
in the matter of land and transportation. 

A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR PARTY. / 

It has seldom been our lot to come in contact with so many genial fellow- 
travelers, to whom, one week before, we were perfect strangers. We enjoyed 
this social tour through the Southwest, and feel anxious, with our fellow-editors, 
to express sincere thanks to those gentlemen who first designed the trip for us. 
These gentlemen are referred to elsewhere, and we will only add that we shall 
not soon forget them. To the kind people of Little Rock, Hot Springs and Arka- 
delphia we also tender pur thanks for many kindnesses received at their hands. 
Special mention is due the good people of Lewisburg, Conway county, for their 
reception of us on our way up the Fort Smith road ; and very special reference 



PENNSYLVANIA CORRESPONDENCE. 345 

should be made to Col. W. B. Gibson, the "wild Irishman of Arkansas," as 
styles . himself. To him we are indebted for much information concerning the 
the country through which we traveled. I have the most pleasant recollections 
of my colleagues en route — Col. J. M. Jackson, of Peru ; Judge G. W. CoUings, 
of Kock^dlle ; Maj. C. M. Brooke, of Plymouth, and Dr. H. C. Coates, of Valpa- 
raiso, Indiana. We have met and we have parted ; but we shall not soon 
forget our trip to the South. We terminate this article with a grateful reference 
to Hon. J. M. Loughborough, of the Iron Mountain Railroad ; Messrs. T. B. 
Mills & Co., publishers; Col. W. D. Slack, our whole-souled friend, and Col. 
T. Hartman, of the Fort Smith road. As a Northern man, my heartfelt 
wishes are with the people of Arkansas, for the future welfare and improve- 
ment of their pleasant State. 



GHAPTER XV. 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS 



By GEO. W. LAWKENCE, M.D., Hot Springs. 




HISTORICAL. 

gRKANSAS formed a part of the Louisiana Territory. It was originally- 
settled by the French in 1670. It was ceded in 1803 by France to the 
United States, According to Rev. F. Banks (reported in his Universal 
Geography, published during the reign of His Majesty George III.), as exhib- 
ited by a map executed b}'^ T. Bowen, Geographer, folio 493, agreeable to treaty 
of 1784, Louisiana then extended from the 26th to the 40th degree north 
latitude. It was bounded on the north by the territory of the (wild) Indians, 
east by Florida, south by the Gulf of Mexico, and west by New Mexico, which 
Is now known as Texas. In 1720 the French succeeded in making a few settle- 
ments beside the "Isle of Dauphine" (Mobile), 80 leagues east of the mouth 
of the Mississippi river. These in ^art were ceded to England by treaty of 
1763 ; afterwards by England (together with Florida), it was ceded to Spain, 
according to treaty of 1783, including the rivers Mississippi, St. Francis, Black, 
and the Mobile, Isle of New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi, and 
the "town of New Orleans," then the capital of Louisiana; both are names 
originally given by the French. 

The early territorial history of Arkansas is as meagre in matters of general 
interest, and barren in material properly belonging to it, as are the circum- 
stances of its growth and development at a later period. Legends and tradi- 
tions have in the past, with few exceptions, served the part of history. Since 
1803, when the territory of Louisiana was acquired by purchase from the 
French Republic, it has been separated, and afforded important political terri- 
torial divisions. Arkansas remained a part of the Louisiana Territory untU 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 347 

1812, when the State of Louisiana was admitted into the Union. It was created 
a Territory March 2, 1819. Afterward it became part of the Missouri Terri- 
tory. Missoui'i was admitted as a State into tlie Union March 2, 1821, and 
Arliansas was left alone, as a separate Territory, organized as such with its 
present limits. It was admitted into the Union as a State June 15, 1836. 

Arkansas lies between the parallels of 33 deg. and 36 deg. 30 min. north lati- 
tude, and extends through five degrees of longitude, from 89 deg. 10, min. to 94 
deg. 42 min. west longitude. It is bounded on the north by the State of Mis- 
souri, on the east by the St. Francis and Mississippi rivers, on the south by the 
States of Louisiana and Texas, and on the west by the State of Texas and the 
Indian Territory''. The Mississippi river margins the eastern boundary of the 
State, making a shore-line about 400 miles in extent. The present area of the 
State is 52,198 square miles, or 33,406,720 acres. The population in 1860 was 
435,450. According to the census of 1870 it numbered 485,000. It is com- 
puted to be in area one-sixth larger than New York. Arkansas, so favored by 
nature in latitudinal position, climate, soil, mineral wealth, large tracts of forest, 
navigable inland and marginal rivers, medicinal and pure flowing springs, 
possessing, physically, good commercial relations and valuable agricultural 
advantages — all that is inviting ^ — has be^n, since its earliest days, overlooked 
and overleaped generally by emigration. 

The hardy adventurers, that desirable class of inhabitants, have turned away 
from the borders of this unknown di^dsion to more rigorous climates. Immi- 
gration has not been duly encouraged. The great, growing, powerful West, 
Northwest and Northeast, even in territorial wilds, were rendered more accessi- 
ble for exploration and more in\'iting to emigrants. 

ACCLIMATION OF RACES. 

In the new States, where the population is mostly foreign, or by migration of 
mixed races, in the different settlements, statistical reports will soon give us a 
knowledge of the facilities or power of adaptation of the various types of man- 
kind in acclimation, and the relative mortality, compared with the native born, 
among the different immigrants or settlers in those countries, will add a valuable 
page — one hitherto unknown to medical climatology. Those from cold, rigorous 
sections abroad, leaving their native soil for more temperate climates, or from 
milder regions to colder sections, maldng great alterations in the change from 
one region to another, contrary to general supposed laws of health or of cli- 
mate, will have something to declare of statistical import. In other words, we 
can ascertain the effects of a new residence, where meteorological \-icissitudes 
are constantly operating, or exercising an influence upon the constitution, dif- 
ferent from that of the usual habitation. 

UTILITY OF RACES. 

It is well known that some races of the human family readily overcome the 
difficulties to be encountered by emigration far better than others, and that 
those conditions or powers of adaptation have many interesting features for 



348 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 






scientific thought. Acchmation appears to be a physical law that manifests the 
vital susceptibility, or power of adaptation of the person to antagonize certain I 
atmospheric or climatic impressions. It is well known that certain races of 
mankind (it is even supposed some of the lower order of the animal kingdom) ' 
appear to enjoy advantages over others in the operation or process of acclima- 
tion. Some are verj^ susceptible to morbid impressions, whilst others show a j 
surprising degree of insusceptibility or phj^sical hardihood, in fact almost an ' 
entire immunity or exemption from disease. The unknown forces that appa- 
rently protect or favor races in certain parts of the world should be better ' 
understood. If such advantages are really so favorable, proven bj^ statistical 
facts, we should in all cases, in the early settlement of new countries, select 
immigrants the best adapted for the peculiarities of climate. 

Material for climatic knowledge in America has ever been abundant, but not 
rapidly utilized, especially in that immense area, the western half of the conti- 
nent. Only through military posts, an occasional medical report, through 
surveys, some casual tourist, or an amateur obserA^er, have we even a smat- ' 
tering of the singular blendings of climate. Since the observations of Dr. 
Forey, brought down to 1881, all the valuable accumulated material has been 
chiefly embraced in a volume of great interest, published by Lorin Blodget 
in 1857. The great growth in population, the cultivation of soil, the explora- 
ons of that broad expanse of territory west of the Mississippi since that 
part of early record, showing so many interesting variations, are yet almost 
entirely wanting as material for statistics. 

PHYSICAL CLIMATE. 

The physical features of a State, the geographical relations of land arid water, 
the general aspect or exposure, are important items in climatology. In the 
study of climate the general inclinations of a whole country, the aggregate of 
local exposures, the drainage of the surface, the large number of rivers, bayous, 
lakes, marshes, and overflowed parts ; the prevailing currents of wind ; air, 
journeying under physical laws over the area, are all conditions for investiga- 
tion. The physical configuration of Arkansas presents ; great variation of sur- 
face. The State is one of the great basin States of the Mississippi on the west, 
for a distance of three and a half degrees of latitude and five degrees of longi- 
tude. The elevated parts of the State commence at the undulations of the 
surface in the southwestern part, soon developing into foot-hills and mountains 
of the. " Masserne range," and expanding into broad mountain tracts as we 
course toward the north and east, until we meet the "Ozark Mountains," 
which, commencing near Little Rock, extend north and westerly beyond the 
limits of the State. They obtain an elevation of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. 
These mountains have been strangely divided into separate ranges. They do not 
present two distinct chains or di^dsions. They are simply an intricate blending 
that belong to the "Ozark group of mountains." In the western di^-ision, 
about the centre of the State, some orological difficulty may be present in plac- 
ing them all in the same group, from the upheavals, metamorphoses, produced 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 349 

by more recent violent igneous agency that lias made physical alterations. The 
debatable portion of remarkable elevations and manifestations is more especially 
found in Polk, Pike, Montgomery and Hot Spring counties. 

MARGINS OF THE GREAT BASIN AND EMBAYMENT. 

It is the elevated part of the State, formed by these mountain ranges, that has 
made and now makes the strong physical barrier to the great basin. It also 
margins the great embayment of the gulf section. It has physicallj^, geolog- 
ically, botanically and climatically almost completely divided the State. It 
separates the older formations from the later, the mineral wealth of the State 
from the rich agricultural lands. The rivers of the State, which abound, 
aiford good inland navigation, water power and drainage course from the north, 
northwest or westerly, in a direction south and easterly, to empty into the 
Mississippi river. The channels of these rivers, the varying temperature of the 
waters, the effects of the evaporation from the surface, give avenues for atmos- 
pheric circulation. These water and wind channels are coursed by the cold 
and more rarefied currents of the air from the more elevated mountain regions 
of the north and northwestern territor}^, which are found plunging into the in- 
terior and southern portions of the State, invited thither by the warm air of the 
littoral regions of the G-ulf of Mexico south of us ; and this circulation, so 
refreshing, gives to the inhabitants the marked peculiarities and advantages in 
the climate of the State. It is well known that a moderately undulating country 
is, for health, preferable to one altogether mountainous or flat. Mountainous 
regions act phj^sically on the climate of a country chiefly by determining the 
prevailing winds ; they may also hy their direction oppose all wind currents, 
the passage of salubrious as well as noxious winds, and thus exercise a corres- 
ponding influence upon the atmosphere. 

I 

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 

The physical features of surface in some parts displaj^ marked peculiarities 
from local surroundings, sometimes from exposure of elevations in the mountain- 
ous divisions of the State, so that often within an area of ten miles we find the 
temperature varying from 4 to 12 cleg. Fahr. It is observable that the Arkansas 
valley about Fort Smith has a peculiarly mild climate, resulting from physical 
causes, location, surroundings and the nature of the soil. In comparison, a 
difference of 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature is found between that 
place and one degree of latitude farther north. It is well known that the seasons 
iDetween the elevated regions of Washington, Benton and Boone counties, in 
the northwest, compared with those of Chicot, Drew, and other counties in the 
southeast part of the State, belonging to the alluvian section, show a remarkable 
difference. At least a month in the advancement of vegetation is plainly ob- 
servable in the semi-tropical portion of the southern counties over the northern 
tier of counties in the State. 

We append, from Blodget's Report, the mean temperature of this part of 
the State, taken at the military post during a period of 12 years. Taking into 



350 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

consideration tiie contour of Arkansas, viewing it physically as a State, with its 
marked elevations, dech\dties and basin features ; the mountain barriers on the 
west, the altitude of the mountain range in the northern and northwestern part 
of the State, and extending beyond it in the same direction, we are brought to 
the conclusion that the low mean of temperature throughout the j^ear, and the 
peculiarities of seasons, are influenced mainly by their conditions. The pent, 
walled-up, basin-like collection of air south of the mountain ranges invites 
currents from the northern elevated regions, producing condensation of vapors, 
and a great precipitation throughout the year, with refreshing, eddying 
currents, freely coursing along the aerial dam which modifies and lowers the 
temperature of the air at certain seasons, greater than that of adjacent States 
in the same zone of latitude. Arkansas has been greatly favored by nature in 
territorial characteristics. Nature has been generoxis in terrestrial endowments. 
Man alone has been the sluggard, and neglected the advantages offered him. 
One of the second tier of Gulf States, belonging to a belt of latitudes the most 
equal and delightful in temperature found in the grand zone of circumference 
upon our planet, in all the known divisions of the earth — Arkansas, the "Switz- 
erland of America," has remarkable conditions as one of the interior, we might 
add middle, States of the Federal Union. She is abundantly suppUed with 
navigable rivers, so distributed as to give free access interiorly to all parts of 
the State, The great boundary on the east is formed by the mighty Mississippi. 
The St. Francis on the northeast, which rises in southeast Missouri, and flows 
through the low undulated portions of the northeast, where it intermingles with 
lakes, bayous and palludal surfaces, is a tributary of the Mississii^pi. The White 
river, one of the most charming navigable inland streams on the continent, 
rises in northwest Arkansas, and leaving the State boundary, flows through the 
lower southwest counties of Missouri, soon to return again to the State, to greet 
its affluent, the Black river, which affords from the confluence, almost at all 
seasons, navigation for a distance of 350 miles. 

White river, with its tributaries, gives drainage for a broad expanse of coun- 
try from the northwest, middle, and southeastern parts of the northern section 
of the State. 

The Arkansas river, one of the largest tributaries of the Mississippi, rises in 
the mountains of Colorado, and flows easterly for a distance of 2,000 miles to 
join the Mississippi. White river is an affluent, flowing into it near its mouth. 
The Ai'kansas river bisects and drains this entire country ; it is navigable 
entirely across the State, and during high water beyond it, far up into the 
Indian Territory. The Ouachita, with its tributaries, drains almost the entire 
State Ij'ing south of the Arkansas river, or all that surface lying between it 
and the Red river. It is navigable 250 miles. Tlie Red river is the south- 
western channel of drainage, and is navigable throughout its course in the 
State. Thus we have the best avenues to afford drainage throughout all parts 
of the State. The State is divided into 74 counties ; 46 of that number are 
watered by na'sdgable streams, w^hich, with their branches, afford a na\'igable 
highway, within the State, of over 3,000 miles, available throughout the year, 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 351 

generally without climatic barriers, for internal commerce. The evaporation 
from the vast aqueous surface, the condensation and precipitation by rain^ 
plainly demonstrate the peculiarity of climate for the latitudinal position. 

CLIMATIC DIVISIONS OF THE STATE. 

The climate of Arkansas is mild, salubrious, and inviting. Sudden alterations 
in temperature are less frequent than in the Eastern States of the same lati- 
tude, the climate being not so changeable as in the lower Gulf States. The 
prairie, flat and low lands south of the line drawn, do not show as high a 
temperature as some Northern States, and the winters are generally short ; the 
mercury rarely falls so low at zero. "Within the limits of the State we find a 
great variety of mineral in the different tissues of the soil. Vast deposits of 
valuable minerals are found in the northern division. The rich formations of 
tertiary and post-tertiary deposits in the lower division are not excelled in 
fertility by any known land. The bottom-lands, we find, vary in quality and 
productiveness, yet they are generally remarkably deep and rich. 

Thus formed by nature, Ai'kansas is a desirable agricultural and mineral 
State. Exempt alike from the intense heat of the extreme South and the severe 
cold of the North, her genial climate and fertile soil produce in abundance the 
productions of both regions. The rich bottom-lands will yield, under favorable 
culture, from 80 to 100 bushels of Indian corn, and about 450 pounds of cotton, 
per acre, which is considered a fair average crop. The climate and soil, with the 
organic constituents, and moisture requisite, by precipitation of rain, dews and 
vapor, to support growth of staple productions, afi'ord an index regarding this 
su.bject. The meteorological reports accompanying, showing the mean calcula- 
tions for each month, at all seasons of the past year, will give an inkling of 
climatic^ conditions at the capital, which is about the geographical and com- 
mercial centre of the State. The diversified surface, presenting mountains and 
valleys, foot-hills and plains, table-lands, second bottoms, undulating prairie, 
rich bottoms, flats and overflowed sections, gives to particular localities local 
atmosphere, notable topography, and singular meteorological influences. The 
temperature of the seasons, in the different parallels of latitude within the State, 
greatly diff'ers. 

According to Dr. Scoresby Jackson's chart of medical climatology, showing 
climatic lines, or isothermals, we find Arkansas embraced within the most 
agreeable latitudes found north of the equator. Between the 30th and 40th 
degrees north latitude is the most desirable belt known throughout North 
America, Europe, Africa and Asia. It is the most temperate, equal, and 
healthful zone of latitude that surrounds the earth. In the precipitation of 
rain, refreshing showers, dews, and wind currents, Blodget gives the same 
mean, showing it to be the most favored clime. The precipitation, at all sea- 
sons throughout the year, owing to ph3^sical causes, is more equal in amount 
than found elsewhere in adjacent parallels. The vernal mean temperature at 
Little Rock, for 1871, was 72 deg. 82 min. Fahr. It t-orresponds isothermall}'^, 
or as a climatic line, with our continent, between the Atlantic and Pacific 



352 THE NEW AKKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

oceans, commencing on the Atlantic coast at a point in Florida (in a parallel 
with Tampa) a little south of New Smyrna, touching the line at New Orleans, 
the interior of Chihuahua, also on a hue of Fort Yuma (Colorado and Gila 
rivers), and terminating on the Pacific coast at San Diego. The summer mean 
at the capital for 1871, being the warmest season experienced within the past 
decade of years, records a temperature of 80 deg. 29 min. Fahr., corresponding 
to the isothermal mean on the Atlantic coast (east), with the north boundary 
of the Bahama Islands. Littorally it compares mth Charleston, S. C, and 
Wilmington, N. C. In the interior of the continent, with Augusta, Ga., Mont- 
gomery, Ala., Jackson, Miss., Fort Towson, I. T., Austin, Texas, El Paso, N. 
M. , passing through the centre of the great basin of the interior to Sacramento, 
Cal., and Loreto, in L. Cal. Yet we find a climate remarkable for precipitation 
for the line of temperature. The autumn onean, 50 deg. 44 min. Fahr., recorded 
for 1871, at the same place, corresponds, on the Atlantic coast, with a point 
south of Boston, Mass., internally with New Haven, Conn., Providence, R. I., 
Pittsburg, Penn., Cleveland, Ohio, Oswego, N. Y., Detroit, Mich., Council 
Bluffs, Iowa, Fort Laramie, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, Fort 
O'Kamagan, on a line coursing northwester^, terminating on the Pacific coast 
at Vancouver's Island. Precipitaiion, generally, is not very great during the 
autumnal months. Winter mean. The temperature during the winter varies 
but shghtly from that of autumn. At Little Rock, in 1871, it was only 50 deg. 
22 min. Fahr., which in isothermal relations, on the Atlantic margin, compares 
with Charleston, S. C, Savannah, Ga., interiorly with Nachitoches, La., San 
Antonio, Texas, Fort Tejon — and coursing northerly, terminates on the Pacific 
coast at San Francisco. The precipitation is good throughout the winter, with 
an occasional fall of snow. 

The mean temperature of the year 1871, at Little Rock, was 63 deg. 32 min. 
Fahr. It is difficult to compare this with any record or isothermal relation 
known. We can only approximate it on the northern division of the hemi- 
sphere. On the Asiatic Pacific coast the mean compares with the temperature 
of southern Japan. It couises Asia, running south of a parallel with Constan- 
tinople, again, on a hue with Rome, easterly, a little south of Madrid, Spain, 
ranging about the temperature of the Azore Islands, touching the Atlantic coast 
of America about Charleston, S. C. It makes a good interior line, in regular 
parallel, west, running south of El Paso, and onward, northwesterly, to the 
Pacific coast of America about San Francisco. The hyetic relations are among 
the best to be found in the United States, and are regarded as the most deska- 
ble mean that belongs to the hemispheres. 

GEOLOGY. 

The geolog}^ of Arkansas in the various sections of the State is as varied as 
the climate — the various formations containing rich deposits of valuable mineral, 
coal, lignite, marls, and other marine deposits. 

North of the chor ographical division we have a delightful chmate. The moun- 
tains, table-lands and valleys present generally a rich surfac-e, good drainage. 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 353 

romantic and picturesque scener^r, and a productiveness remarkable for the 
formations and latitudes. The staple productions of that part of the State are 
more allied to those of Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. South of the 
diagonal hue we find geological formations peculiar to the embayment of the 
Mississippi. It belongs to the drifts and deposits of the tertiary and post- 
tertiary peaiods. The formations belong to cretaceous, eocene tertiary, post- 
eocene, and quarternary chiefly. It is not proper in this report to delve too 
deeply into geology, or attempt to discuss chi'onologically the various forma- 
tions. Our purpose is merely to allude to the nature cf the expanse found in 
the area of the State, to give the exposure, surface, character of underlying 
rocks, mineral deposits, drainage of country, and such material that may afford 
a foundation of perpetual climatic value. 

A rich mineral belt of lead can be traced from the southwest corner of the 
State, following the north division, bordering the northern portion of the hne^ 
and extending northeast to Pulaski county, perhaps beyond it (running from 
the "Bellah mines," on the margin of the State, to the "Kellogg mines"), 
varying in width, depth and value of the ore. Galena is also found abundantly 
in the northwestern part of the State, and extends southeast through several 
counties ; zinc and manganese are also found near the southern margin of the 
Silurian formations. Iron abounds throughout the State, and, with the valuable^ 
coal measures, will be of future commercial importance. The vast deposit 
of lead ore found in this State is generally argentiferous galena. Along the 
diagonal line marine beds are found quite liberally distributed, interspersed 
among the clays, alongside of the lignitic belt that runs almost parallel with 
the galena. 

The marine deposits are found coursing from the Mississippi border of the 
State (in Crittenden county) southwesterly in direction to the Red river. In 
Little River, Hempstead, Clark and the adjacent counties, they are found more 
superficial and apparently more abundant. These marine beds appear mostly 
as outliers on the cretaceous deposits developed in the southwestern part of the 
State. Geologists complain of the paucity of the vestiges of ancient life in the 
formation of the different groups, carboniferous, etc. , found within the State. 
It suggests that the alterations of surface by elevation — uprising, or upheaval 
according to Hilgard, or the sudden retu-ement of the waters of the gulf, from 
the mountain barriers and slopes of this part of the great embayment, at an, 
early period, and the rapid deposits of the tertiary and qviartenary formations, 
may account for the apparent scarcity. 

Palaeozoic and palseo-botanical vestiges are not of sviflftcient interest to dweK 
upon in sectional climatology. The "grand prairie," lying between the Ai-kau- 
sas and White rivers, presents an elevated surface of table-land which is peculiar 
in soil, and an exception to the general productiveness of almost all other parts 
of the State. The surface appears a good retainer, but it requu-es organic 
matter, deep culture and exposure of the soil. If supplied with organic food,, 
nature will soon reward the husbandman with a bounty. The palludal region 
that borders the shore line of the Mississippi river, from Mississippi county in, 
23 



354 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

different parts to Chicot county, presents a large tract of surface that would 
prove immensely valuable by drainage. The overflowed bottoms are districts 
where pernicious climatic diseases usually prevail during the warm season. The 
productions of the basin section of the State are very valuable. The rich 
alluvial bottoms of this part of the State produce the valuable stg^ples of the 
Southern States, together with the fruits, vegetation (especially the flora) of 
the semi-tropical latitudes. 

BOTANY. 

The division line drawn on the map of Arkansas separates the mountains, 
foot-hills, and undulating parts almost entirely from the level lands of the State, 
and gives a marked difference in the botany of the parts, recording the evidence 
by the varying staple productions, and luxuriance in vegetation, from the mon- 
archs of the forest to the tiny cryptograms. 

A knowledge of climate, and the conditions afforded by it, for the advantages 
of animal life, are thus clearly indicated. 

HYGIENE. 

We find variety in temperature, humidity, and all meterological conditions 
within the boundary of our State. The chorographical line designated also 
marks a chmate line north of it. The cheerful, romantic, invigorating atmosphere 
of the mountain regions, with its clear bright skies, affords an inviting tonic 
climate, especially for those suffering with chronic affections of the respiratory 
organs, digestive forces, or general physical debility. The more equal sedative 
climate of the southern division of the State is also well suited for diseases of 
the mucous surface. The temperature, although relaxing during the hot months, 
is generally genial. The vicissitudes or sudden transitions, however, are less 
frequent than we find in the adjacent States. In the lower tier of counties, 
particularly where the pine in dense forests abounds, a good atmosphere can be 
found for those chronic sufferers who are afllieted with catarrhal, bronchial or 
pulmonary affections. In the low lands in the various parts of the State, where 
a rank and luxuriant vegetable growth is general, will be found those t3qDes of 
malarial diseases which characterize such regions elsewhere. The inhabitants 
living adjacent to palludal sections, or residing in the rich alluvial and post- 
tertiary parts, suffer from miasma, which produces vernal, ajstival and autumnal 
climatic ills. Intermittent and remittent fevers are common, and visceral 
disturbances a consequent ; malarial hepatic, malarial splenic, malarial renal, 
malarial pulmonic, malarial gastric, malarial enteric, malarial cerebral, spinal 
and nervous derangements prevail. Cerebro-spinal meningitis, ha3mic glandular 
disturbances, pneumonia, hematuria, h^ematemesis, morbus Addisonii, gastro- 
intestinal disease, rheumatism, neuralgia, all belong to that class of diseases 
most generally due to atmospheric impregnations. ' 

Arkansas is abundantly supplied with pure delicious water. Her numerous 

rivers, springs and clear streams flowing from mountain tributaries, su^^ply the 

~ inhabitants with a superabundance. The number of valuable mineral springs 



-•/ 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 355 

throughout the State is inviting to laealth and pleasure seekers, and, with tlie 
climatic advantages, if rendered accessible to visitors, would, throughout the 
year, make much of the State a sanitarium. 

THE HOT SPRINGS OF ARKANSAS. 

The Hot Springs of Arkansas, in the interior of the State, are among the 
wonders of the continent. These springs, fifty-seven in number, ranging in 
temperature from 93 to 150 degrees Fahr., discharge over 500,000 gallons of 
water daily, sufficient in quantity to accommodate (with delightful bathing) 
10,000 bathers every day in the year. These natural earth-heated waters hold 
in solution valuable mineral constituents. Clear, tasteless, inodorous, these 
springs pour forth, from the novaculite ridge, waters as pure, bright and 
sparkling as the pellucid Neva. The various springs are qualitatively allied, 
not holding in solution or freighted with too much abusive mineral, and they 
are free from all noxious gases. It is believed the properties of the Avaters, 
especially in the treatment of chronic lijcmic diseases, are unequaled. There 
are no springs known of superior value, or that can compare with the Hot 
Springs of Arkansas, as adjuncts in the treatment of that class of chronic dis- 
eases. They are more nearly allied to Gastein (in the Noric Alps) than any 
known springs ; but, in regard to climatic advantages, we can justly claim that 
the climate of Arkansas, throughout the year, far surpasses the European. 
When h3^drotherapy is more generally understood by the medical profession at 
large, these natural waters, as remedial adjuncts, will surely be more appreciated 
for the virtues they possess. These thermal springs do not belong to that class 
known as intermittent waters. They flow a constant, regular current with like 
temperature. Ai'ising from great depth, the calidity or gelidness exteriorly does 
not appear to influence them. Many theories exist regarding the cause of heat 
of all such constant springs. We must incline to the views of Humboldt, that 
it is imparted by the inherent heat of the earth. These superheated waters and 
gases, with the high electrical conditions (as we find, artificially or naturally 
generated, whenever the temperature is elevated to a certain altitude above 
ebullition), hold in solution the soluble mineral tissues of the earth, thi'ovigh 
which the hot water penetrates, and convey it to the surface. The crude mate- 
rials found by qualitative analyses in these waters are 

Silicates witli base. Alumina, with oxide of iron. 

Bicarbonate of lime. Oxide of manganese. 

Bicarbonate of magnesia. Sulphate of lime. 

Carbonate of soda. Arseniate of lime? 

Carbonate of potassa. Arseniate of iron? 

Carbonate of lithia. • Bromine? 

Sulphate of magnesia. Iodine, a trace. 

Chloride of magnesia. Organic matter, a trace. 

The pure, subtUe liquid certainly holds in refinement active mineral ingre- 
dients, that no chemical anal3^sis can resolve satisfactorily its true natural combi- 
nations, or reveal the relations. The inherent thermo-electric properties, together 
with the peculiar chemical formations of the carbonates of the alkalies, alkaline 
earths, and other mineral substances, give the waters properties that cannot be 



356 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

imitated by art. Their action is strangely unlike artificially prepared waters. 
Who would sip, gulp, or quaff down three or four pints of artificially prepared 
water, at a temperature of 148 deg. or 150 deg. Fahr. at one time, and feel 
refreshed after the feat ? Here it is given to invalids as the usual dose during 
the process of bathing. The efficacy of this wonderful fluid, medicated mys- 
teriously in subterranean recesses, by its affinities, or powerful combiniiig 
forces, is really a subject worthy of more general study and of true professional 
interest. As " correlants/' "alterants" and " eliminants," these waters are 
important adjuncts that will aid the practitioner with celerity to control many 
obstinate chronic ills. When projected railroads are completed, affording 
greater facilities for travel, this miniature Baden-Baden will be an invalids' 
resort throughout the year. We predict that the period is not remote when 
these springs will be more famous and resorted to annually by the European 
tourists for all chronic ha^mic diseases. 

The Mammoth Spring, in Fulton county is also a remarkable phenomenon. 
The main body of water issues from a cavernous orifice 40 yards in circumfer- 
ence. A volume of water fiows, constant in temperature of 60 deg. Fahr. and 
in quantity estimated at 8,000 barrels per minute. This water, doubtless, has 
some subterranean origin that courses beneath the silurian formations. The sur- 
face of the water is continually agitated by the bubbhng action of the carbonic 
acid which impregnates it. The highly charged gaseous water favors the devel- 
opment of aquatic plants, which attract water fowls during the cold months. 
No great value is attached to the medicinal properties of the Mammoth Spring 
waters, but it is here noted as a matter of scientific interest. It is a valuable 
hydrauhc power for manufacturing purposes. 

DISEASES, ETC. 

When your Committee on Climatology, etc., for this State, was appointed^ 
correspondence soon commenced with a number of intelligent medical gentle- 
men residing in different parts of the State, soliciting their aid in the effort to 
procure the best material for a report. They were invited to furnish, for record, 
a knowledge of the past, supply vital statistics, report epidemics, endemics, 
nature of sporadic diseases, peculiarities in type belonging to their respective 
locations ; in brief, to present all important climatic facts known to them in 
theu" region, in order to consummate the work. Special attention was directed 
to certain localities, seeldng information based upon the physical geography, 
geological formation, nature of soil, and meteorological conditions. Several 
respected friends promptly responded to the call, giving interesting data for 
future use, which were thanlcfully received, and will be referred to in the course 
of this paper with a degree of satisfaction. It is unfeignedly a matter of pro- 
found regret that more valuable statistics cannot be added. With few pleasing 
exceptions we can furnish very few statistics worthy of record. Application 
was made, also, to note particular^ the effects of climate, and the supposed 
immunity, or otherwise, of the different races, concerning diseases of a peculiar 
type. It was desirable, if possible, to have the experience of your committee- 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 357 

confirmed in the conclusions concerning the several diseases mentioned. It is 
allowed, and has been noted by your committee, that croup, diphtheria, influ- 
enza, ozaena, and delirium tremens are rarely found among the pure-bred 
African race in this climate ; that syphilis and gonorrhoea are more tractable 
with that race ; also that integumentaiy (positive electrical phases) as well as 
mucous ills (negative electrical phases) are less persistent and infrequent among 
Africans. Phthisis pulmonalis, typhoid fever, gout, and rheumatism, with their 
complications, are less frequent in Arkansas than found in the adjacent States. 
Although phthisis pulmonalis rarely originates here, ye,t it is proper to qualify 
the last expression regarding the rarity and comparison with the State of Texas. 
Doubtless southwestern, middle and northwestern Texas affords a climate 
equally favorable to combat that disease as this State ; but each State merits 
the attention of medical men — for those who have hereditary predispositions, or 
are threatened with respiratory diseases of that class. The appended replies of 
the gentlemen who were interrogated for special information will give an idea of 
the questions asked concerning the subject. All feel a,nd deplore the want of 
vital statistics. 

The recent organization of local medical societies, and of a State Medical 
Association, in this State, will tend to impart valuable information concerning 
the nature of diseases, climatic and .meteorological influences, if the duties of 
the respective bodies are properly directed for scientific accomplishment. We 
add a list of the local societies reported organized at the last session of the 
State Medical Association. 

NATURE OF DISEASES, ETC. 

Dr. P. O. Hooper, of Little Eock, late President of the State Medical Asso- 
ciation, etc., under date of April 4, 1870, informs your committee: " We have 
never had an epidemic of any kind in Little JRock. All eruptive fevers are of a 
mild and tractable type. Have had but few cases of pneumonia for two j^ears. 
Pneumonia is frequently complicated with typhoid spnptoms ; also bilious or 
remittent fevers with the same complications. Do not believe I ever saw one 
well-marked idiopathic case of t3q3hoid fever, the disease only occurring or 
following other fevers. Phthisis pulmoi^alis is rare. Don't recollect now of 
ever seeing a case of phthisis in this section that originated here unless from 
hereditary succession. Skin diseases are not common ; uterine ills infrequent ; 
scrofula rare ; ozaena rare ; rheumatism the last season quite frequent, very 
tenacious, and difficult to overcome ; seldom any heart complications. Pre^dous 
to last year rheumatism was seldom known here. Dysentery quite frequent 
dui'ing dry summers and fall, but seldom fatal. No statistics or mortuary 
reports kept by city. Consider Little Rock more healthy than any town in the 
United States of equal population. ' ' In reply to further inquiries Dr. Hooper, 
under date of February 7, 1872, writes: "In all my practice I have never 
seen an epidemic of any kind. Nothing epidemic prevails in this place. Spo- 
radic cases of contagious diseases are rare. I beheve, immediately after the 
war, cholera prevailed among the soldiers and freedmen, but I saw none. Even 
pneumonia is infrequent during the present winter. I have had but three cases, 



358 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

and have heard of but few other eases in the city for six months past. ' ' In 
February, 1872, it was reported that cerebro-spinal meningitis was prevailing, 
and that three deaths had occurred among the students at St. John's College, at 
Little Rock. Your committee at once made inquiry concerning it. In reply, 
under date of Febrtiary 21, 1872, Dr. P. O. Hooper, chairman of the committee 
appointed by the trustees of St. John's College to investigate the cause, fur- 
nished the report of the committee in relation to it. We extract the following : 
"The disease was known to prevail in St. John's College in the years 1862 and 
1863, when occupied as a hospital by the C. S. Axmy. The hospital steward at 
that time, Mr. H. C. Burrows, now residing in this vicinity, states that there 
occurred not less than 100 cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis, a large majority 
of which died. The cistern-water used by the cadets for drinking purposes has 
been examined, and found to contain organic matter. Hospital steward Bur- 
rows further states that Confederate surgeons had to discontinue the use of this 
cistern- water, from its supposed injurious influences." The communication 
from Dr. E. Gr. Jennings, U. S. Army, corroborates the same statement. The 
committee, in reply to the interrogatories of the trustees, add: "We are of 
the opinion that there exists some local cause or causes that have excited this 
outbreak," and they suggest the following, viz.: "We recommend that the 
interior of the building be saturated with freshly manufactured chlorine gas ; 
that the walls be thorouglily whitewashed or calciumizecl, either preparation of 
lime to contain a small amount of carbolic acid. That the wood- work be 
repainted ; floors cleaned with water impregnated with concentrated lye, and 
afterwards painted. The remnants of matting now on the floors should be 
removed and burned ; unslal?:ed lime, or other disinfectants, should be freely 
used around and about the building, and all cess-pits should be covered with 
earth. We also recommend the closing of the cistern, and that new ones be 
built ; and that, for the present, all water for drinldng purposes should be 
obtained from sources where it is known to be of pure qu.ality." Attention to 
these suggestions, the daily inspection from the cuhnary department to the dor- 
mitories, the free circulation of pure fresh air, together with a thorough system 
of sanitary police, soon arrested the disease in that college. 

In a few weeks after its subsidence at St. John's College, the disease occurred 
in a few sporadic cases among the citizens of Little Rock, Arkansas. It proved 
fatal in almost every case. Cerebro-spinal meningitis appeared also at Helena 
and Lewisburg, Arkansas, and a few sporadic cases were reported along the 
Arkansas river, but the t3^pe of it was ' less malignant. At Helena it attacked 
all ages,, from childhood to advanced years. 

The contribution to this report from Dr. Hooper speaks for the interior of the 
State ; Little Rock (his birth-place) being the capital, and about the geographical 
centre. 

Dr. R. G. Jennings, of Little Rock, read before the Arkansas Medical Asso- 
ciation, November 6, 1872, "A Sanitary Survey of Little Rock," which is a 
valuable paper and merits attention, as Little Rock is now attracting the atten- 
tion of capitalists and others from abroad, as a desirable location for residence 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 359 

and for its commercial advantages. We append the following extract from Dr. 
Jennings' report : 

The city supply of water is altogether from artificial wells and cisterns, and is 
of a fair, healthy quality, in ho case deleterious, and in very many excellent. 
Thus a sanitary survey of our situation and surroundings, although we are 
usually considered as located in a malarious district, discloses no prominent 
causes for endemic or epidemic influences. 

Prior to the war it was considered a remarkably healthy and desirable place 
of residence, and, within the memory of the oldest physician, had never been 
visited by either of those scourges of the human race — cholera or yellow fever. 
During the war and occupancy by Confederate and Federal armies respectively, 
particularly of the latter, the amount of sickness, both among soldiers and 
citizens, was undeniably appalling. Disease then seemed intensified, and 
proved alarmingly fatal among freedmen, women and children, and among white 
refugees. 

This, however, could in a great measure be accounted for by causes referable 
strictly to unfavorable sanitary conditions ; such, for example, as the crowding 
together of a large number of persons in one house, cabin or tent; the inferior 
quality of their food ; the improper preparation of it ; their irregular and gluttonly 
manner of partaking it — usually ' ' bolting' ' rather than masticating it ; the want of 
necessary and proper clothing, etc. ; the unusual exposure to cold and moisture ; 
the constant excitement of mind ; in fact all these exerted an influence favorable 
to the development of disease. 

Throughout the summer of 1866 there was a great amount of sickness, and, 
in addition to our endemic diseases, cholera supervened, and prevailed quite 
extensively among soldiers and citizens. 

It first appeared among some new recruits stationed at the United States 
Arsenal, who had passed through infected places on their way to this post. 
There had, however, prior to the appearance of cholera, been observed a marked 
tendency to diarrhoeas, dysenteries, cholera morbus, and other kindred bowel 
afi'ections ; so that remedial agents of a cathartic or even laxative nature, when 
prescribed, exerted such a powerful eff'ect upon the patient that their use had 
become extremely limited. Cholera was also known to prevail this season in 
almost every city along the Mississippi river. 

It is impossible to arrive at any positive conclusion regarding the fatality of 
the disease among the citizens, as thei^ exist no proper records from which an 
accurate estimate could be made. From the number I personally attended, and 
from the number which other physicians have informed me they observed, I 
then approximated the number of deaths from this disease among both white and 
colored, at 165 ; this from a population of between 8,000 and 9,000 persons. 

From the commencement of the year 1867 until the present time (November, 
1871 ) the health of the city has been unusually good. In this period there has not 
prevailed any distinct type of endemic or epidemic disease of sufficient virulence 
or fatality to cause anxiety of mind among any class of persons. Unfortunately 
there has not been, until recently, any record of diseases or causes of death, or 
other authentic evidences or data, from which accurate information could be 



360 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

obtained sufficient to enable the physician to draw conclusions. The Pulaski' 
County Medical Society first brought before the city council the subject of the 
registration of all deaths, and the causes producing the same. 

This body, appreciating the necessity of accurate information for satistical 
and sanitary purposes, passed an ordinance regulating the burial of the dead, 
etc., which ordinance became a law on the 31st day of March last. 

This ordinance requires, as a condition precedent to the issuance of a burial 
permit, a certificate from a physician, stating the name, age, sex, color, nativity, 
social relation, place of residence, duration of last illness, disease or cause of 
death, and place of intended interment.; This law has now (Nov. 1st, 1871,) 
l)een in force seven months ; and I find, upon careful and accurate enumeration, 
that 268 deaths have been recorded: white males 98, white females 59, colored 
males 66, colored females 45. Including in the number of deaths (268), are 
stillborn white children 9. and stillborn colored children 20. 

Number of deaths of white children five years of age and under, 48. Number 
of deaths of colored children five years of age and under*, 47. Number of 
permits issued for interments of persons whose residence and death were out- 
side the city and immediate vicinity, 47 (these being also included in the whole 
number enumerated, viz., 268). 

Deducting these latter, we have, in a period of seven months, 221 deaths 
proper, in the city, from a population of 17,000 — an average of a fraction over 
81 per month, or a fraction over one death each day. 

As there is no registration of births, it is impossible to make an estimate of the 
number, or to compare the ratio of deaths with that of births. 

And, as we have no authorized classification of diseases or causes of death, I 
have hastily impro^Tised one, and arranged the list of diseases and cau.ses, as 
"best I could, in view of the imperfect manner in which the certificates have been 
made out. The ai'rangement is as follows : 

Class I. 

Miasmatic diseases 88 

Enthetic diseases / 1 

Dietetic diseases 6 

Class II. 

Diathetic diseases 5 

Tubercular diseases .34 

Class III. 

Diseases of the nervous system 34 

" " throat, lungs and heart 24 

Hepatic, venal, and digestive diseases .21 

Disease of the bones ; 1 

"Wounds, injuries, and accidents 12 

Unclassified, including stillborn 37 

It will be observed that there is no unusual proportion of any one distinct 
cause of disease. 

That the greatest number of deaths (95) in Class I. was, from miasmatic 
causes 88, enthetetic 1, dietetic 6, of which there were 21 cases of congestive 
fever, and cases reported as congestion. 



CLIMATOLOOT, ETC., OF AKKANSAS. 361 

That the next largest number in Class I. (lo) was from remittent fever, while 
the third in j)rogression (12) was from chronic diarrhoea. These all come under 
the order of miasmatic diseases. 

Under the order of dietetic diseases in Class I. , there were four cases of death 
from intemperance, and one from delirium tremens^ making five in all, an unusual 
proportion of deaths from this cause : a fact somewhat suggestive, irrespective 
of any question of morality, as regards the quality of liquors generally sold in 
our city. • 

In Class II. we find 39 deaths ; from diathetic causes five, tubercular 34. 
Thus we have 31 cases of death from consumption, a very large percentage, 
considering the season of the year. Of these, 13 were of white persons and 18 
of colored. This exhibits the fact that consumption is making rapid strides 
among the latter-named race of people. 

In Class III. there are 134 deaths ; of inflammation of the brain we find 13 
cases. Also 10 cases of cynanche trachealis or croup. The former as well as 
the latter cases, in this class of local diseases, appeared chiefly among children. 

From wounds, injuries and accidents, we have 12 deaths, a very large mor- 
tality indeed. Of this number, five were killed or died from wounds inflicted by 
other persons ; two were drowned ; two burned sufficient to cause death ; two 
died from amputation of leg after injury, and one committed suicide by taking 
strychnine. 

Dr. E. R. Duval, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, writes under date of March 5th, 
1870: " The data of medical history in this part of Arkansas are exceedingly 
meagre and unsatisfactorj^. Would that there was a well-organized medical 
society in each county in the State ; also a State organization, awake to the best 
interests of the profession." Under date of March 27th, 1870, in reply to 
further inquiries, he states: "Influenza has not been frequent in this State, 
although for the past two months an epidemic has been general throughout this 
and Scott counties — form mild. Ozsena is very rare. I've never seen a case of 
croup in the pure-bred African. I've found syphilis very manageable, more so, 
by far, than in the white race. The same fact might be stated in reference to 
gonorrhoea in the African. I've never seen a delirium tremens in the negro. 
Such is also the observation of Dr. Dunlap, who has practiced medicine and 
surgery upon this frontier for many years. The Indians west, in their diseases, 
present nothing peculiar, save much less resistance and great proneness to 
'passive congestions,' particularly of the lungs. There has been, for sixty 
clays, an epidemic of tonsilitis in this city. Latitude of Fort Smith, 35 deg. 23 
min. north; longitude 94 deg. 29 miii. west." 

Your committee is further indebted to the accomplished gentleman for the 
following report of the diseases, etc., of the northwestern section of the State: 

"The climate of this and contiguous counties is temperate. The summer 
season is distinguished by no exalted. degree of heat. The thermometer exhibits, 
from the first of June, a temperature varying from 85 to 96 deg. Fahr., until the 
20th of August. For a few days in July, particularly during a season of 
drought, the mercury may rise as high as 100 deg. Fahr. About the 20th of 



362 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

August the nights begin to grow cool, and no heat worthy of record during the 
day, save at about noon. Gradually, as September approaches, the heat gives 
way or disappears, and by the 20th of September the fall has commenced, which 
in this latitude is gratefully acknowledged, as it is marked by no sudden changes, 
but on the contrary is cool and bracing. About the 20th of November, almost 
invariably, there is a 'cold spell,' lasting about 10 days, when it again mode- 
rates to usual fall weather, and winter is not clearly announced until the 20th of 
December. At this time, and for a week, the thermometer indicates a. tempera- 
ture varying from 20 to 32 deg. Fahr. The residue of the winter presents no 
excess of cold — a temperature varying from 32 to 44 deg. Fahr. The present 
winter has been a very mild one and quite dry. Our spring commences after 
Easter, usually about the 15th of April. I am unable to furnish classified 
tables, as I have neither barometer, thermometer nor hygrometer. 

" The physical geography of the country presents much diversity. The car- 
boniferous area, in this county especially, is very large and fertile ; the product 
is rich and abundant, not only for home consumption, but also (if transportation 
could be secured) for exportation. Of diseases, those of malarial origin are by 
far the most prevalent. Intermittents assume every type ; the tertian, however, 
is the most common. No season is exempt. Most prevalent from the 1st of 
June to the 1st of October ; usually yielding to the antiperiodic, quinia. My 
experience in the treatment of the disease leads me to regard no treatment 
satisfactory unless patients are removed from the malarial districts ; then, by 
systematic and persistent effort, the paroxysms may be controlled. All diseases 
here exhibit decided periodic exacerbations, demanding sooner or later anti- 
periodic treatment. Cholera prevailed at Forts Smith and Gibson in 1832, 1849, 
1851, 1866 and 1867. The epidemics in 1832, 1849 and 1851 were very fatal. 

"One remarkable fact in reference to the cholera, in its manifestations here, 
is that it has never visited Van Buren, Crawford count}^, Arkansas, a small town 
on the north side, five miles northeast of Fort Smith. It is true a few sporadic 
cases occurred, but in no way did It spread among the inhabitants. This is the 
more remarkable when it is known that no quarantine regulations Interdicted 
the free intercourse of the citizens of the two places. We have never hadj'ellow 
fever. Dysentery is not common. In 1853-4 a fatal epidemic prevailed in 
"Washington, Benton, Madison and Carroll counties. The type was adynamic, 
and was equally fatal in young and old. Typhoid fever, pure and uncompli- 
cated, is rarely seen. Pneumonia is common in the winter, and often assumes 
a typhoid type. Phthisis is rare. Of the ' exanthemata,' we have had epidemics 
of scarlatina, rubeola and variola. 

" In 1846-7 scarlatina raged as an epidemic through this and adjoining coun- 
ties. It appeared again in 1863-4, but without malignancy. Rubeola has often 
visited us. In 1869 it was very general in its manifestations, yet mild and 
easily managed. Variola has often occurred sporadically ; in 1859-60 it assumed 
an epidemic character, and out of 500 cases in this city, 10 per cent, at least 
died. Of the eruptive diseases the following of the chronic class are most 
common, viz. : urticaria, eczema and prurigo. They are generally very readily 



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CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 36S- 

itroUed. A form of prurigo, known with us as ' army itch,' has prevailed 
.ce the war, and in the majority of cases has been very persistent, defying in 
me the verj^ best and most skillful treatment. Of the neuroses, neuralgia of 
le fifth pair or trifacial nerve is the most common ; indeed it is very generals 
emales are ver}'' prone to it, and no treatment can be regarded as curative — 
alliation, in most cases, alone being possible. The latter remark is not 
itended to embrace those cases clearly of malarial origin. Of uterine diseases 
le most common is chronic cerAacal endometritis, and from my limited observa- 
on I am led to believe no treatment satisfactory without perfect physiolo- 
ical rest, 

" I now close, expressing regret at my ''failure to give you anything satisfae- 
)ry ; still, my dear sir, if I dared offer anything by way of extenuation, I 
light, even with such a critic as you, be justified." 

Since the date of Dr. Duvall's report (March 6, 1870,) he has assisted la 
le organization of a State Medical Association, taken part in the proceedings, 
lid met delegates from nine local or county medical societies at the last session, 
-t the last meeting of the State Association he contributed an article on. 
Malarial Hematuria," which is published in the Proceedings. 

Dr. J. A. Owens, of Monticello, kindly supplied yoxw committee with valuable 
iformation relating to the medical topograph}^, climate, and diseases of south- 
astern Arkansas. Under date of January, 1871, he writes: " I will include,. 
I the short report, the counties of Drew, Ashley, Desha and Chicot, situated 
I the extreme southeast corner of the State, and comprising all the territory^ 
i tween the Mississippi river on the east and the Saline river on the west, and 
tending from the Arkansas river (near its mouth) north, to the Louisiana 
le south, latitude from about the o2d to the 34th cleg, north. The counties 
' Desha and Chicot are situated exclusively in the sioamp^ or valley of the 
[ississippi. This valley or swamp has an average width here of from 25 to SO- 
iles, and is intersected with numerous lakes, sloughs and bayous. The higher 
nds are the banks of the river and of the larger bayous, and constitute, with 
w exceptions, the only habitable portion of this section* of the country. In 
)nsequence of the destruction of the levees during the war, which were built 
iT the protection of this region, it is subject to annual inundation during the 
^arch and June freshets of the Mississippi and its tributaries. The banks of 
lese streams form, as a general rule, the highest part of the immediate country 
i'ough which they pass, so that when the rivers fall, after an overflow, a large 
u'face of land is left undrained, and a large amount of water is left to be 
irried off by percolation and evaporation during the sumnfer. About 10 or 15 
lies west of the Mississippi river, however, there is a large extent of swamp 
)untry which remains unafl"ected by the overflow of the river. This section is: 
tersected by numerous ponds, sloughs and lakes, which, ha\ing no outlet, are 
led with water during the winter and spring rains, and are consequently sub- 
ctecl to the same influences, as the overflowed region. Near the junction of 
Lis vast swamp with the higher lands of Drew and Ashley counties meanders 
le Bayou Bartholomew, a stream of considerable importance in an agricultural 



S64 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

point of view. The lands on either bank are high, and entirely above overflow, 
and have a gradual descent for the distance of a half mile to one mile on either 
side, and are consequently well drained. The soil is a rich alluvium, and very 
productive. Its banks are dotted with numerous and extensive plantations. 
Still, thousands of acres of these magnificent lands are in their wild or "virgin 
state, awaiting the ax and plow of the sturdy pioneer to develop their resources 
and make this one of the finest cotton regions of the State. This stream ia 
navigable during the spring rise, for small boats, some 300 miles above its 
junction with the Ouachita river. As might be expected, the inhabitants of this 
swamp, and of the hills in its immediate vicinity, are subject to malarial fevers 
of every type, variety and grade. 

" Leading the swamp, which terminates abruptly in an irregular line of bluffs 
or hills, with an elevation of 50 or 75 feet above the valley, we come next to 
the high lands of Drew and Ashley counties. For a distance of 10 or 15 miles 
west of the valley, the CHJuntry is comparatively level, with a gradual elevation 
towards the centre of Drew county, where it swells into a broken mountain 
ridge, with an elevation of 150 to 200 feet above the valley of the Mississippi. 
This ridge runs through the centre of Drew county, from north to south, and 
abounds with numerous springs of pure, soft water. Monticello, the county 
town of Drew county, is situated on this ridge, within 40 miles of the Mis- 
sissippi river, and about midway between the swamp or Mississippi valley 
and the Saline river, and at the junction of the M. O. & E. R. Railroad with 
the L. R., P. B. & N. O. Railroad. The former road is nearly completed 
to this point ; the latter is in process of construction. Monticello has a popu- 
lation of 1,500 or 2,000 inhabitants, and is rapidly improving. 

" Westward of this dividing ridge to the Saline river, and south through Ash- 
ley count}^, the county is less elevated and more level, and covered with a thick 
growth of magnificent pine timber. There are quite a number of prames in 
Ashley county. The soil of this upland or hill country is argillaceous, covered 
with a thick vegetable mould. That of the bottom-lands, on the numerous 
creeks which interse(?t this region, is partly alkmal, and very productive. The 
principal productions are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, potatoes and tobacco. 

" Culinary vegetables, of almost every varietj'', and superior quality, are 
raised in abundance. Various kinds of fruit, as the apple, peach, pear, plum, 
nectarine, fig, pomegranate, etc., are very abujidant, and attain a large growth,, 
and are finely fiavored. 

"The forest trees consist principally of the genus quereus, pinus, carya, 
juglans, tJyospjT-os, populus laevigata, prunus "V^rginiana, almus fulva, et rubra, 
cornus Florida, and cupressus disticha. , 

' ' FLORA, FAUNA, ETC. 

' ' The following are a few of the plants of this region : Datura stramon- 
ium, azalia nudicalis, podophyllum peltatum, arum trj^phyllum, allium sativum, 
aristolochia serpentaria, chenopodium anthelminticum, phytolacca decandra, 
rubus villosus, rubus trivialis, vitis vulpina, vitis labrusca, rhus toxicodendron, 



^ CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 365 

gelsemium sempervirens, marrubium vulgare, mentha piperita, mentha viridis, 
asclepias tuberosa, helianthus annuus, tanacetum vulgare. 

" The animals of this region, as in other parts of the State, are the black 
bear, deer, panther, wild-cat, fox (red), rabbit, raccoon, opossum, skugik, mink, 
wolf, otter, beaver, squirrel (red, gray and black), rat and mouse. 

"The bu'ds are: the wild turkey (meleagris gallipavo), turkey buzzard 
(cathartes aura), bald eagle (falco levicocephalus, owl (strix Virginiana), 
meadow lark (alauda magna), blackbu'd (quisculus versicolor), crow ,(^'Oi'vus; 
Americanus), blue jay (cyanurus crystatus), thrush (terdus rufus), robin (terdus 
migratorius), blue-bird (sailis Wilsonii), snow-bird (emberiza nivalis), wood- 
pecker (picus auratus), Idngfisher (alcedo alcyon), swallow (rufa hordeorum), 
whip-poor-will (caprimulgus vociferus), pigeon (columba migratorius), partridge 
(ortyx Virginianus), red-bird (tanagra sestiva), mocking-bird (mimus polyglot- 
tus), snipe (scolopax Wilsonii), woodcock (scolopax rusticola). The wild 
goose (anser Canad. ), and several species of the duck, as the anas brochas and 
anas sponsa, frequent the water-courses of this region during the winter. 

" The rattles-nake, small ground rattlesnake, moccasin, cotton-mouth, viper, 
copperhead, black-snake, chicken- snake, king-snake and others, are quite num- 
erous in the swamps, but are seldom seen in the hills. 

" Among the insects I will mention the honey-bee, humble-bee, yellow-jacket, 
hornet, wasp, cricket, grasshopper, butter-fly, house-fly, house-fly, ant, flea, tick,, 
gnat, mosquito, and sand-fly. The three last mentioned are confined almost 
exclusively to the swamps and low-lands, and are never troublesome on the 
Monticello Ridge. 

' ' The rivers, lakes and creeks are abundantly supplied with fish of a superior 
quality. The principal varieties are the buflfalo, cat, trout, bass, pike, perch, 
white-perch, gar, drum and sucker. 

"The geology of this region presents an unexplored field for scientific 
research. I will remark, however, that beds of coal have been discovered on 
the Saline river, in the counties of Drew and Bradley, but they have not been 
sufficiently investigated to ascertain their quality or extent. 

"The climate is mild and equable, the thermometer rarely going above 90 
deg. or below 20 deg. Fahrenheit. 

" DISEASES. 

"The majority of diseases of this district, and especially those of the summer 
and fall months, are of malarial oi'igin ; and those which chiefly engage the atten- 
tion of the physician are fevers of an intermittent and remittent type. In the 
counties of Desha and Chicot, situated as they are in the low, alluvial lands of 
the Mississippi Swamp, these fevers prevail extensively, and are generally of a 
very severe grade. In fact, they are so common in this region that an individual 
who resides here one season and escapes unscathed is looked upon as very 
fortunate indeed. The inhabitants of this swamp, with very few exceptions, 
exhibit in their general appearance the peculiar characteristics of material 
toxsemia, such as the pale, sallow complexion, protuberant abdomen, from 



."366 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

enlarged liver and spleen, and general depression of the physical and mental 
energies ; so that, as a general rule, it is only necessary to see an individual to 
be able to tell in what portion of the country he resides. 

*' As the hill counties of Drew and Ashley lie due west of the Mississippi 
swamp, or palludal district proper, and the prevailing winds of summer are 
from the southwest, the miasmatic exhalations of that region are not so fully 
'experienced here ; consequently the fevers are not near so common, and are 
'generally of a milder grade. In the treatment of the miasmatic fevers of this 
ji-egion, mercurial cathartics, quinine and the various preparations of cinchona 
are mainly relied on. Quinine is usually given in the intermission or remission 
of the fever ; but in those severe cases of fever where the remission is not well 
:inarked, we do not hesitate to give it during the fever, combining it in those 
tJases with veratum viride or some one of the special sedatives. 

*' A very malignant form of malarial fever has prevailed to a limited extent in 
the swamps of this district, and on the hills in their immediate vicinity, charac- 
terized by a deep-yellow or jaundiced condition of the skin, excessive irritability 
of the stomach, and hffimaturia, and attended with remissions and exacerbations. 
This disease is peculiar to the South, and generally follows repeated attacks 
of intermittent fever. So much has been written and published by phj^sicians 
of the South during the last three years in regard to the history, nature and 
treatment of this disease, and by those too who have made it their study at the 
bedside, that I will merelj^ allude to it in this connection. Each writer on the 
subject has given it a name to suit his own peculiar views on the pathology of 
the disease. The name " hsemorrhagic malarial fever," suggested by Dr. 
-Michel, of Montgomery, Alabama, appears to be most generally adopted by the 
profession at present, I will remark that I have never met with a well-marked 
case of this disease in Monticello or vicinity ; nor have I heard of a case occurring 
'on the Monticello Ri'dge, in this county. My brother, Dr. J. M. Owens, of 
Hamburg, informs me that he has met with a number of cases of this disease in 
Ashley county, and that they have generally terminated fatally. During the 
winter and spring, diseases of the respiratory organs, as catarrh, laryngitis, 
-bronchitis, pneumonia and pleuritis, are most prevalent. As a general rule they 
are of a mild grade and jaeld readily to treatment. 

*' Previous to the late war this portion of the State was subject to occasional 
visitations of epidemics of typhoid fever, dj^sentery and typhoid pneumonia. 
Since 1860, however, with the exception^of the almost universal prevalence of 
measles and whooping-cough in 1869, there is no disease which can be said to 
iave occurred epidemically. The diseases of the digestive system are not of 
common occurrence, and are for the most part mild in character. The diarrhoeas 
yield readily to a rational treatment. The dysenteries, being mostly unattended 
by general excitement, are promptly relieved by saline laxatives and opiates, hot 
fomentations and cold water enemata. Acute inflammatory rheumatism is a rare 
disease in this locality. In the subacute or chronic form, this disease is of more 
frequent occurrence, and is persistent in character ; and although it may be 
a-eheved temporarily by a rational treatment, the disease is apt to return at every 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 367 

unfavorable change in the weather, and, as a general rule, the patient has finally 
to be sent to the Hot Springs of Arkansas for a permanent cure." 

Dr. J. N. Bragg, of Camden, courteously responded to your committee, and 
furnished, under date of April, 1870, the following report of the diseases, etc., 
of his section of the State : 

'•^Cholera, — Camden, lying immediately on the Ouachita river, and being in 
direct communication with New Orleans for six to nine months in each year, has, 
in seasons when the cholera raged in the latter city and along the rivers leading 
thereto, had many cases of cholera, occurring on steamboats plying between 
the two points. Persons have died on boats at and near the wharf at Camden, 
and their remains were buried in the cemetery, yet the disease has never spread 
among the inhabitants. It is said by steamboat men that no one ever takes 
cholera on the river after he reaches the pine hi] 

" Yellow Fever. — There has never been a case of yellow fever in this city. 
At those seasons when it is prevalent in localities south of us, there is no 
communication between those places and Camden ; consequently there has 
never been a case brought here to test the matter of its spreading. 

'•'^Smallpox. — There has never been an epidemic of smallpox here. It hap- 
pened to me to treat several cases of the disease in the spring of 1866. The 
disease was brought from Little Rock. The patients were at once isolated, and 
the disease did not spread. Occasionally a case of smallpox or varioloid is 
landed from a steamboat here, but the complaint has never been propagated 
from that or an}^ other source. 

'•'■ Diphtheria. — There has never been an epidemic of diphtheria in this sec- 
tion, and, indeed, I do not remember having seen a case of it in twelve years. 

" Influenza. — An epidemic of influenza invaded this community in January of 
the present year. Since the first of March it has rapidly declined. Though 
intensely severe in many cases, it did not prove fatal in a single instance in the 
better classes. Among the negroes, particularly children, it has been attended 
with considerable fatality. 

" Dysentery. — In the latter part of summer, and during autumn, dysentery is 
a common complaint — sporadic, however. But one epidemic of dj^sentery ever 
visited this section, and that was in the year 1857. It was of a most virulent 
type, and exceedingly fatal. In many cases within 48, and even 36 hours after 
the inception of the disease, collapse came on, speedily followed by a fatal 
issue. The complaint appeared to carry off more whites than blacks. The 
weather was unprecedentedly cool in the month of August, when the epi- 
demic was at its height, necessitating the sleeping under blankets at night. 
Many people here j-et remember that time with a shudder, and when the atmos- 
phere becomes unseasonably cold in the summer numerous are the prognosti- 
cations and fears expressed of ' flux. ' 

'■'• Scarlet Fever. — I know of no other febrile disorder worthy of mention, as 
visiting this section, than scarlatina About the year 1849 and 1850 it appeared 
in Camden as an epidemic. In many cases it assumed the malignant form, and 



368 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

was attended with very gi^eat fatality. Ten years later it again made its appear- 
ance, but in the simple form, and I do not remember a fatal case of it. 

'■'■Pneumonia. — Pneumonia is not a very common affection with us, and those 
cases occurring are for the most part quite reasonable to treatmeijt. 

" Bemittent and Intermittent Fevers. — Remittent fever is next to intermittent 
fever in point of frequency. Of the latter we are accustomed to valness every 
known variety, but the tertian form is the most common. Congestive fever is 
occasionally met with in the early fall months. This form of fever is, however, 
not common, but, when occurring, is frequently of very difficult management. 
I have obsen^ed that both remittent and intermittent fevers sometimes run into 
active congestion, but much more frequently does the latter than the former 
disease. I have noticed, moreover, that these instances occur, for the most 
part, with those who Uve on the north side of swamps and marsJtes, and particu- 
larly when bodies of these lands are denuded of timber, affording a fair sweep to 
the winds, which are almost uninterruptedly blowing from the south and south- 
west during the hot months, and taking up miasmatic matter and wafting it 
onward until, from dilution with pui-e air, or from other causes, it loses its 
noxious properties. 

"In this connection — in relation to climatic fevers — it may be well to speak 
of a form of fever which I beheve is known by several names, but here is more 
generally styled 'miasmatic fever.' Without entering into a detailed descrip- 
tion of the disease, I shall merely mention its more prominent characteristics 
as presented in this locality-. In addition to the usual train of symptoms 
peculiar to those attacks of remittent fever wherein there is a great degree of 
prostration and sinking of the vital forces, there are, at first, frequent and 
copious discharges of a dai'k flidd from the urinary organs, resembling blood 
and oil mixed, partaking of the appearance and characteristics of both. After 
the lapse of a period — varying from one to several days in fatal cases — there 
is a total suppression of the discharge ; the skin of the patient becomes fre- 
quently of a bronzed appearance ; delirium, low and muttering, sets in, and 
death soon closes the scene. In the favorable cases there is a gradual change 
in the character of the urinary secretion toward a normal standard; the 
skin clears, and the patient enters upon a tedious and protracted convales- 
cence. In this form of malarial fever I think it is ' safe to say that one-fourth 
of the attacks prove fatal. I speak of the disease as it has been seen by me 
during the last summer and the summer before. The observations of others 
may differ from my own. The various sjonptoms are not identical in different 
cases. I kept no memoranda of the cases coming under my notice, but shall 
do so in future, 

" The treatment, in different hands, has of course differed — diuretics, purga- 
tives and supporting with quinia. Mercurial preparations have been used 
cautiously. I am incHned to the diuretic plan of treatment, nitrate of potassa 
and turpentine in large doses. I was impressed with the advantage of this 
course. My friend Dr. Williams assures me that under its exhibition five out of 
six patients recovered.. 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 369 

" The origin of this fever is certainly the same as that of remittent and inter- 
mittent fevers ; the poison, from some cause peculiar, producing this train of 
symptoms. Our type of bilious or remittent fever is, for the most part, mild ; 
rarely ever continuing beyond the sixth day. 

" Phthisis Pulmonalis. — This disease is of rare occurrence, and is invariably 
hereditary. It is rare that a case of the disease is seen in persons who have 
been reared here, though the parents may have died of this malady after moving 
here from the older States. Certainly phthisis is not of easy development in 
this region. 

" Scrofula. — Scrofula is rare and seldom manifests itself in its common forms. 
With us the ' scrofulous diathesis' is seldom seen. 

" Ozcena. — I remember having seen only two cases in Camden. One of the 
cases is under observation at this time, and in this there exists the scrofulous 
diathesis. 

" Uterine Disorders. — Diseases of this class are of rather common occurrence. 
In my own experience, ulcerations, or Meigs' raspberry inflammation, about the 
OS and cervix, are oftenest seen. I have not had the misfortune to see those 
' horrible' cases of engorgement, induration, ulceration, etc., that are so fre- 
quently charged upon the womb. Among the disorders of menstruation with 
us, clysmenorrhoea is most common. 

" Cutaneous Ills. — We have none of any importance. 

^^ Typhoid Fever. — This disease, as described in books, is, I believe, not 
known here. We see the ' low typhoid condition' occasionally as the result of 
certain forms of fever, but never fully characterized by the symptoms peculiar 
to true idiopathic typhoid fever. Sometimes patients, in the Condition spoken 
of, have sordes, and low muttering delirium, without tympanitic condition or 
tenderness of the epigastrium. Again, we may find the latter symptoms promi- 
nent, and former absent ; and so of the other characteristics of this disease. 

" Topography. — There is nothing of pecuhar interest in the topography of 
this' region. The past winter has been remarkably mild. Sudden transitions in 
temperature sometimes occur. On the first day of January, 1864, the thermom- 
eter went down to 28 deg. Fahr., but the cold only lasted five days. On the 
13th day of March, at six o'clock p. m., the thermometer stood at 76 deg. At 
eight o'clock p. m. it rained ; at nine p. m., there was sleet; at twelve o'clock, 
midnight, clear; mercmy 32 deg. Fahr. At day-break the next morning it 
stood at 25 deg. Fahr. These were the only cold days of the season, the latter 
being the most remarkable vicissitude in temperature ever recorded here." 

We are indebted to Dr. W. D. Summers, of Murfreesboro, for the medical 
topography of Polk, Pike, and a part of Sevier counties. He reports the 
southwestern part of the State generally healthy. Intermittent and remittent 
fevers are the most prevalent autumnal and vernal diseases. Congestive fever 
is rare. Pneumonia frequently occurs during the autumn and winter. Typhoid 
S5nnptoms sometimes follow pneumonia and remittent fever ; but pure typhoid 
fever is a type of disease rarely ever seen in that mountain region. Dysentery 
24 



370 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

arid diarrhea prevail during the summer. In the lower part of the counties, 
among the cretaceous formations, enteric diseases are more common. Polk 
county is supplied with an abundance of delicious water. Streams and springs 
of pure water are found in the northern portion of Pike, and in part of Se\ier 
county; but where chalk, marl, and shell deposits are found, the water is 
imhealthy and unfit for use. Cisterns have been introduced throughout this 
region of the cretaceous belt, and cistern water mostly employed. 

We will now further consider the medical climatology of the interior — that 
intermediate country about Hot Springs and the counties adjacent to it— between 
the regions heretofore described, viz., at the capital, the northwest, southeast, 
south lud southwestern parts of Arkansas. This division of the State is mostly 
an elevated country, composed of undulations, foot-hills and mountains. De- 
lightful springs, spring-streams and rivulets abound throughout the area. The 
head waters of the beautiful Ouachita and Saline rivers rise here. The rich 
aUuvial bottoms, vaUeys and vales, margining the tributaries of these streams, 
are sparsely inhabited. The settlers are chiefly engaged in husbandry. They 
are a hardy class ; and diseases, save cUmatic fevers, pneumonia, dysentery and 
diarrhoea, which appear at certain seasons, are rare among them. Phthisis, 
scrofula and goitre are scarcely known in these elevations, and rarely originate 
here. Hepatic, splenic, renal, enteric and other functional ills of miasmatic 
origin sometimes prevail, but these attacks are generally very manageable. 

JictZarmZi^evers.— Tertian and quotidian intermittents are the most common 
forms of fever. Quartan is less prominent. Double quotidian and octan t^qoes 
are met with occasionally. Severe congestive attacks, known here as ' 'congestive 
chills," sometimes occur, and death soon results when aloof from medical aid. 
Pernicious fevers, or any grave type of malarial fever, are rarely met with. 
Epidemics and endemics are unknown in this mountainous part of the State. 
Within the past 13 years no epidemics have prevailed at Hot Springs ; and we 
have no history of the prevalence of any since its settlement. Cholera and 
yellow fever are here unknown. The atmosphere in this ' ' pine section' ' appears 
to antagonize the invasion of these diseases. A form of ophthalmia prevailed 
in 1860-61 in some parts of Hot Springs and Montgomery counties. It was 
considered a malarial conjunctivitis. Scorbutic tendencies appeared among a 
few of the residents of Hot Springs and adjacent counties in 1860. It was 
known as " mountain scurvy," and was readily relieved by dietetic means. A 
case of variola occurred at Hot Springs in 1858. Precautionary means were 
assumed, and the spread of the disease ob^'iated. Vaccination, when practi- 
cable, is a resort as a supposed prophylactic in variola. 

Zymotic Diseases are scarcely familiar here to the profession. Varicella (a 
pseudo type, or a malady that sometimes strangely courses the same avenues) 
was endemic at Hot Springs in 1868. Scarlatina and diphtheria have never 
prevailed. Rubeola prevailed as an endemic in 1862, and again in 1868, 
attacking indiscriminately all ages, from childhood to adult life. It was not 
mahgnant, and few cases proved fatal. Cynanche' parotidea was rife at Hot 
Springs in 1868. It was of a mild form, and no deaths resulted. Pertussis 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 371 

prevailed for three or four months at Hot Springs in 1867. Croup is rare; 
asthma uncommon. Erysipelas, of idiopathic type, is unknown. Dengue is not 
familiar to us. Tj^dIius and typhoid fevers are unknown. Ty^Dho-malarial 
condition and typho-pneumonitis sometimes supervene as a result of remittent 
fever and pneumonia. Rheumatism is not common. It is safe to state that gout 
never originates here. Uterine diseases and puerperal complications are very 
rare. We are unacquainted with any country in the same latitudinal relations 
that has more advantages for health. All the attributes that we regard are here 
found to contribute to health and longeiT-ty. No part of the continent vdthin 
the same chmatic realm is more salubrious than this mountain region of Arkansas. 
The spring and autumn months are generally pleasant ; the summer months are 
not exhausting by extremes of heat. The nights throughout the hot months 
are cool and invigorating. The winters are mostly mild and short in duration. 

The advantages of the climate throughout the entire year, the pure, rarefied 
mountain air, the dehghtful waters — all give promise that the thermal springs in 
this part of the State will soon be one of the most celebrated resorts for invahds 
in the United States. Thousands now annually ^dsit these springs ; but if they 
were rendered more accessible, by the facilities offered for travel by railroad, ten. 
times the number would seek this renowned watering-place. 

It is regretted that no satisfactory meterological reports have been kept at 
Hot Springs, to give the daily mean temperature of the different seasons of the 
year. No medical society has yet been organized at Hot Springs. A record of 
the number of "^d-sitors arriving at the springs for each season, from April until 
November, has been kept from 1860 until the year 1871. The death-rate 
occurring annually among the visitors has also been a matter of record, but 
such statistics are of no practical worth. An effort was made to procure the 
meterological observations taken at Helena, Arkansas, but the observations did 
not extend to a period long enough to report. The careful observations of the 
late Dr. Smith, of Washington, Ai-kansas, published among the papers of the 
Smithsonian Institution, and the accompanying meterological reports will be 
sufficient to give chmatic surface to a large portion of the State. 

It is proper to note that the observations at Fort Smith were copied from 
BlodgeV s Climatology of the United States. We are indebted for the report of 
the observations at Little Rock for 1870, and the comparison in temperature 
drawn between that place and Dubuque, Iowa, to J. P. Henry's publication of 
the '-'•Resources of the State of Arkansas." We are indebted to Dr. R. G. 
Jennings for the statement of the barometrical observations taken at Little 
Rock for 1871, by Geo. E. Dickson, Esq., at the office of the Little Rock & 
Fort Smith RaUroad, and other meterological reports for that year, furnished by 
L. G. Ripley, Hospital Steward, U. S. Ai-my. We are grateful for all statistical 
infoi'mation supplied by our respected friends to aid vis in this report. 



372 



THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELEKS. 



METEOKOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 

Amount of Bainfall at Little Bock, Arkansas, for the Year 1871. 



January • 4:.l 

February < 4.6 

March 6.6 

April 9.9 

May 5.3 

June 3.8 

July • 4.0 



August 1.1 

September 9 

October 2.1 

November ..1.4 

December 

43.80 



THERMOMETER, FAHRENHEIT, AT LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. 



1871. 



January... 
February. . 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August. . . • 
September. 
October... . 
November. 
December. 



Average for year. 



7 A. M. 



36.45 
43.71 
48.96 
58.43 
65.42 
79.86 
80.00 
81.48 
64.06 
55.80 
40.26 
35.38 



2 P. M. 



48.60 
56.92 
64.09 
70.00 
77.67 
84.60 
84.90 
91.54 
82.83 
72.74 
52.43 
43.93 



9 P. M. 



44.13 
51.53 

57.48 
65.53 
70.03 
79.33 
81.53 
84.67 
72.00 
61.77 
48.36 
44.64 



Mean 
for mouth. 



43.06 

50.72 
56-88 
64.65 
71.04 
81.26 
82.14 
85.89 
72.86 
63.10 
47.01 
41.31 



63.32 



Winter 50.22 

Spring 72.32 

Summer.... 80. 29 
Autumn. ...50. 44 



HYGROMETER AT LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. 



1871. 



Mean for 
month. 



January... 
February.. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August.... 
September 
October.... 
November. 
December. 



34.70 
41.42 
46.19 
54-63 
61.45 
74.93 
75.35 
74.54 
62.46 
53.49 
36.80 
30.12 



Mean for year 1871. 



44.45 
51.71 
56.45 
63.03 
69.22 
78.30 
78.93 
85.25 
74.03 
67.96 
■52.33 
45.16 



40.16 
47.42 
51.87 
57.63 
64.58 
74.70 
75.96 
76.61 
67. 56 
58.66 
47.20 
44.25 



39.77 
46.84 
51.50 
58.43 
65.08 
75.97 
76.74 
78.80 
68.01 
60.03 
42.27 
39.84 



58.68 



CLIMATOLOGY, ETC., OF ARKANSAS. 



373 



BAROMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS AT LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. 



1871. 



January. . . 
February.. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August.... 
September 
October... 
November 
December. 



Time. 



6 a. m. 



873.58 
819.77 
905.15 
878.02 
902.41 
874.29 
905.67 
902.54 
882.66 
917.70 
882.63 
927.40 



Time. 



12 M. 



876.08 
822.67 
906.09 
877.00 
902.44 
874.35 
903.68 
902.59 
886.67 
918.76 
879.77 
929.50 



Time 



6 P. M. 



873.60 
820.69 
906.03 
877.78 
902.44 
874.36 
903.66 
901.64 
882.75 
918.55 
870.90 
926.51 



Mean. 



6 a. m. 



29.59 

29.22% 

29.26 

29.11 

29.14 

29.21>^ 

29.11^ 

29.42 

29.60 

29.42 

29.91 



Mean. 



12 M. 



29.68 

29.38 

29.22% 

29.28 

29.11 

29.14 

25.15 

29.11>i 

29.55 

29.63>^ 

29.32 

29.98 



Mean. 



6. p. M. 



29.60 

29.31 

29.19% 

29.25>i 

29.11 

29.14 

29.15 

29.08>^ 

29.42 

29.63 

29.03 

29.89 



Total. 



88.87 

87.96% 

87.65 

87.76 

87.33 

87.43 

87.51>i 

87.81 >^ 

88.40 

88.87 

87.77 

89.79 



Mean 

for 
Month. 



29.62 

29.323^ 

29.22 

29.25 

29.11 

29.14 

29.17 

29.10 

29.47 

29.62 

29.26 

29.98 



table or MEAN TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION IN RAIN AND SNOW AT FORT SMITH, 

ARKANSAS. 



Latitude, 35.23 ; Longitude, 94.29 ; Altitude, 460 feet. Taken at the Military Post. 



Thermometer from 1842 to 1854. 

January 40°.2' 

February 43.9 

March 51.6 

April 62.4 

May 69.9 

June 75.5 

July..... 79.2 

August 78.1 

September.' 72.2 

Octobei' 59, 6 

November 48.3 

December 39.3 

Spring 61.3 

Summer 77.6 

Autumn 60.1 

Winter 41.1 

Year , 60.0 



Barometer from Ie37 to 1854. 

January 1.96 

February 2.17 

March... 2.92 

April 5.10 

May 4.46 

June 4.74 

July 3.82 

August 4.47 

September 3.01 

October 8.43 

November 3.49 

December 2.53 

Spring 12,48 

Summer 13.03 

Autumn 9.93 

Winter 6.66 

Year 42.10 



THERMOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS TAKEN AT 7 A. M., 2 AND 9 P. M., DAILY, AT LITTLE 
ROCK, ARKANSAS, FOR THE YEAR 1870. 



Months. 



January... 
February. . 
March .... 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August. . . . 
September 
October... 
November. 
December. 



Maximum. 



72° 

69 

78 

84 

93 

94 

94 

90 

96 

87 

86 

73 



Date. 



9 to 19 

15 " 20 
9 " 24 

16 '< 22 

7 " 23 

8 " 22 
8 " 16 

13 " 30 

6 " 28 
20 " 30 

4 " 26 

7 '* 24 



Minimum. 



26'^ 
14 
26 
38 
52 
60 
68 
69 
59 
42 
31 
4 



Av'age Temp. 



45° 

46 

49 

61 

71 

76 



81 8 

81 4 

76 6 

63 7 

54 8 

88 5 



374 



THE NEW AKANSAS TRAVELEKS. 



THERMOMETRICAL ©BSERVATIONS TAKEN DAILY AT DUBUQUE, IOWA, FOR THE YEAR 1870. 



Months. 



January . . . 
February.. 
March . . . • . 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August . . . . 
September 
October... 
November. 
December. 



Maximum. 



43° 

51 

52 

82 
87 
102 
100 
95 
88 
72 
60 
51 



Date. 



16 to 17 



26 
28 
24 
22 
29 
30 
20 
19 
31 
22 
23 



Minimum. 



6° below 
7 do 
4 do 

28 

48 

56 

58 

51 

51 

26 

22 

12 below 



Av'age Temp. 



21° 2' 

25 3 

30 8 

52 9 

67 

74 5 

77 9 

70 8 

65 9 

50 7 

39 7 
24 



REPORT OF TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION AT MONTICELLO, DREW COUNTY, ARKANSAS.* 



Months. 



Maximum. 


Minimum. 


Mean. 


Eainfall. 


73° 


42° 


54° 


6.75 inches 


78 


52 


59 21' 


10.50 " 


82 


62 


61 6 


3. 


86 


72 


78 


5. " 


93 


78 


89 


3.75 " 


99 


80 


95 


3.75 " , 

.85 '« 


72 


46 


66 


2.13 " 


70 


46 


5S 


5. 


54 


38 


44 81 


8.63. " 
4.50 " 
1. " 



March, 1869... 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . . . . 

October 

November... . 

December 

January, 1870. 
February 



* These observations were made at noon by Db. W. H. Bakrt. 





HYITAL CHAIT, 



ecv< 



1(1 \ -Ag 




\ '' 



''i 





HYETAL CHART. 

Accompanying DR. 6. W. LAWRENCE'S 
"Report on Medical Climatology." Show- 
ing the mean amount of pivoipitation of 
rain at Little R/Jck, Arkannas, in the year 
1S71. compared with Dr. Loria Blodgofs 
rain map of Climatology of the United 
States, etc. 



<)cr 



<j«j 



\ f 



CHAPTER XVI. 



CONCLUSION. 




eEFORE bidding adieu to oar readers it may not be amiss to give them 
a short sketch of the early settlement and past history of Arkansas, 
:-^^ and, from the pen of a citizen, something of its present status as a 
place for home- seekers. 

Arkansas was a portion of the French Territory of Louisiana, and was sold 
to the United States, by the treaty of Paris, in 1803. The first settlement in 
the State was made at the Arkansas Post, on the river of that name, about 70 
miles above its junction with the Mississippi river. The country, within the 
present territorial limits of Arkansas was made a Territory in 1819, and it was 
admitted as a State June 15, 1836. 

Arkansas lies between,, the parallels of 83 deg. and 36 deg. 30 min. north 
latitude, and extends through five degrees of longitude — from 89 deg. 40 min. 
to 94 deg. 42 min. west longitude. It is bounded on the north by the State of 
Missouri, on the east by the St. Francis and Mississippi rivers, on the south fey 
the States of Louisiana and Texas, and on the west by the State of Texas and 
the Indian Territory. The present area of the State is 52,198 square miles, or 
33,406,720 acres. The population in 1870 was 484,471. The physical configu- 
ration of Arkansas presents great variations of surface. The State is one of 
the great basin States of the Mississippi, on the west, for a distance of three 
and a half degrees of latitude and five degrees of longitude. The elevated 
parts of the State commence in the southern and eastern parts, soon devel- 
oping into foot-hills and mountain ranges, and expanding into broad mountain 
tracts toward the north and west, until we meet the Ozark Mountains, which, 
commencing near Little Rock, extend north and westerly beyond the Mmits 
of the State. 

The line of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad almost marks 
the division of the State into two great sections. The portion south and east of 
it is almost entirely alluvial and low lands, while that part north and west is 
hilly and mountainous. The first named section is only adapted to agricultural 



376 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELEBS. 

purposes, whilst the other, besides containing millions of acres of valuable 
agricultural lands in its valleys and table-lands, has besides great stores of 
minerals imbedded in its hills and mountains. I shall not, however, trust to 
assertion to show the natural wealth of Arkansas. Jay Cooke has had folios 
written upon the beautiful climate and rich lands of "the banana belt " on 
the line of the Northern Pacific, and hundreds of people have been led by glow- 
ing accounts of mineral deposits to penetrate the far west, only to find their 
hopes blasted and themselves penniless ; so that mere assertion of the advanta- 
ges that Arkansas possesses will not weigh much with discriminating people. 
I shall do better than assert; I shall pi'O-ye what I say. 

Arkansas offers more advantages to the farmer than any other State in the 
Union. Bold words, my readers will say. But now for the proof: By refer- 
ring to the census report for 1870 it will be seen that there were 49,424 farms 
in the State, containing 1,859,821 acres of improved land; 3,910,325 acres of 
woodland, and 1,827,150 acres of other land attached. (See vol. 2, table 3.) 
These lands, a total of 7,597,296 acres, with all the houses, fences and improve- 
ments upon them, were valued to the census-taker at $40,029,698, or $5.25 per 
acre, and this valuation was 50 per cent, higher than the one made for taxation. 
These lands, valued at $40,029,698, produced in that year the sum of $40,071,- 
699, a little more than the entire valuation. Admitting that of all the improved 
land but 10 per cent, was in cultivation, we should have 1,673,939 acres of land 
yielding products A^alued at $40,701,699, or $24.30 to the acre. No other State 
in the Union makes such a showing. In New Jersey, where farming land is 
valued higher than in any other State, the average valuation being $86.15 per 
acre, and the number of acres improved being 1,976,474, the value of all pro- 
ducts, including orchards and market gardens, "was $46,998,770, or $23.75 per 
acre. Wisconsin returned 11,715,321 acres of farming land, of which 5,899,343 
acres was improved, the whole being valued at $300,414,064, or $25.50 per acre, 
and the products being valued at $78,027,032 ; or deducting, as in the case of 
Arkansas, 10 per cent, of the improved land as not cultivated, the production 
per acre was $14.65. Minnesota, with its 6,483,828 acres of farming land, of 
which 2,322,102 acres were in cultivation, and which was valued at the average 
of $15.10 per acre, produced $33,446,400, or $14.40 per acre. Iowa, with 
15,511,793 acres of farming land, valued at $392,652,442, or $25.35 per acre, 
only produced the value of $114,386,441, or $12.25 per acre. Nebraska, hav- 
ing 2,073,781 acres of farming land valued at $30,242,186, or $14.60 per acre, 
produced only $8,602,742, or $13.30 per acre. Kansas, with 5,656,879 acres 
of farming land, valued at $90,327,040, or $17.45 per acre, produced $27,620,- 
651, or $i4 per acre. 

Now let us recapitulate, and see how some of these favored Northwestern 
States, which are represented as the paradise for emigrants, compare with 
Arkansas in valuation of farming land, and production from it per acre : 



CONCLUSION. 



377 



RECAPITULATION. 



States. 



Kansas 

Nebraska. • . . 

Iowa 

Minnesota... 

Wisconsin. .. 
New Jersey. • 



Valueofland 
per acre. 



$17 45 

14 60 
25 35 

15 10 
25 50 
86 15 

5 35 



Production 
per acre. 



9U 00 

13 30 
12 25 

14 40 
14 65 
23 75 

34 30 



Percentage 
on money 
per acre. 



91 
48 
95 
57 
27 
465 



This table speaks for itself. It is no fancy sketch, evolved from the inner 
consciousness of some dreamer, but is taken from the most reliable statistical 
tables — the census of 1870. Five times the value of every acre of land in 

cultivation was produced in one year. Is not this ' 

\ 

THE GOLDEN STREAM OF PACTOLUS, 

ready to flow into every farmer's pocket? I do not, however, intend to indulge 
in any rhapsodies. I am merely stating facts, for sensible men to read and 
profit by. It has been said that Arkansas and the South generally could only 
produce cotton, and that cotton could only be successfully cultivated by negro 
labor. Both these propositions are false. The farmer coming from the North- 
west can cultivate corn, wheat, oats and other small grains in Arkansas, and 
will receive for as good cultivation heavier returns than in any of those States. 
With the *most slovenly farming the wheat production this year is far above the 
average in the Northwest. And it is so of all the small grains. The farmers of 
this State have given grounds for the statement that nothing could be grown but 
cotton by their suicidal policy of neglecting everything else to cultivate cotton ; 
but they are learning better, and the attention given to grain this year has 
proven these crops to be so profitable that they v/ill not be neglected in the future. 
Messrs. T. B. Mills & Co., Col. J. M. Loughborough and the State Centennial 
Board have all been engaged in collecting specimens of grain for exhibition, 
and by measurement found wheat six feet high, with six inch heads well filled ; 
oats seven feet high, with heads 18 inches long ; millet nine feet high, with nine 
inch heads ; red clover that cut four tons to the acre ; timothy five and a half 
feet high, yielding four tons to the acre ; red-top four feet high, giving three 
tons to the acre ; blue grass four and a half feet high ; orchard grass five feet 
high and yielding three tons to the acre ; Hungarian grass four feet high from 
the second crop this year ; corn-stalks, one 19 feet high and another with 12 ears 
on it, five of which were 1 1 inches long. These specimens of small grain and 
grasses were exhibited at the St. Louis and Chicago Fairs last fall, and many 
people verified by actual sight what I am now telling. The farmer from the 
North and Northwest will find not only that he can cultivate successfully what 
he has done there, but that there is a diversity of crops here to which he is not 
accustomed, and therefore a better opportunity to make money. Everything in 



378 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

the way of breadstuffs and food for stock can be raised here to better advantage 
than in the Northwest, and cotton can be added to it as a certain money- 
providing article. Another thing he will find is a 

MILD AND GENIAL CLIMATE 

We have no fierce winds coming directly from the north pole, and sending the 
thermometer down to 30 degrees below zero ; no immense snows, burying 
houses out of sight and obstru^cting roads for days and weeks. The coldest 
weather last winter, and that was unusually cold and lasted but a few hours, the 
thermometer was at zero, while the warmest day this year it has been 98. 
Stock do not have to be housed and fed for six months in the year, but most of 
the time can run at large and feed themselves. Here a man can literally live 
under his own vine and fig tree, for there is no better grape country in the 
world than Arkansas. Men raised in German vineyards, and who cultivated 
the vine both in Ohio and Cahfornia, now have vineyards here, and pronounce 
this State superior for grape-growing to either of the sections named. All the 
semi-tropical fruits and all those of the temperate zone grow well. Apples, 
peaches, pears, apricots, plums, etc., reach their highest perfection with the 
slightest attention. A farmer wishing to purchase 160 acres of land in Minnesota 
would, if he bought at the average price, have to pay $2,400 for it. Here, at 
the average, it would cost him but $800. His houses and fencing there would cost 
at least twice as much as their cost here, for lumber and timber are abundant 
and cheap. The man who can purchase a farm in Minnesota and commence 
farming, can buy a better one here and 

SAVE HALF THE MONEY 

for other investments, while many a one, whose limited means prevents him 
purchasing there, can here become an owner of the soil and be independent of 
landlords. 

But Arkansas is not, as I have previously said, purely agricultural ; the lum- 
ber-man, the miner, the manufacturer^ the capitalists of all kinds will find here 
a rich field that is almost virgin, "where the harvest is great and the laborers but 
few." The forests of the Northwest are rapidly disappearing before the stroke 
of the axnien and the buzz of the saw, but there are 50 millions of acres of 

TIMBERED LAND IN ARKANSAS 

where every valuable variety of timber can be found. Professor Leo Lesquereux, 
in 1857 and 1858, was specially detailed by Professor David Dale Owen, then 
making a geological reconnoissance of the State, to examine into the botany and 
paleontology of the State, and his report shows the character of the timber. The 
aid of a scientific gentleman like Prof. Lesquereux is not, however, needed to 
show that Arkansas is well timbered. Any traveler who enters the State from 
any direction, by rail or river, will pass through miles of unbroken forests of 
the finest timber, almost in their primeval condition. Pine, oak of all kinds, 
walnut and black walnut, cypress, cedar, and hickory of the best quality are 



CONCLUSION. 379' 

found in various sections of the State. The timber of Arlvansas is to-day 
worth more than the wliole assessed value of the State, and it stands as that 
much unemployed capital, waiting to he utilized and turned into currency. 
Means of transportation and markets are ready, but the men and capital are 
wanting to open this ' ' bonanza' ' and secure the wealth that will flow from it. 

THE MINERAL DEPOSITS 

) 

that have been so long overlooked demand a share of our attention. The field 
is so large that I can hardly do justice to the subject, though I have spent 
months, I might say years, in the investigation. Of one thing I am fully satis- 
fied, after careful observation and study, that I hazzard nothing in saying that 
Arkansas has more mineral wealth than any other State in the Union. But it 
is undeveloped and almost unknown, though of late some attention has been 
directed to the subject. In 1857 Gov. Elias N. Conway appointed David Dale 
Owen State Geologist, and that year and the next he made a hasty reconnoissance. 
His report, which I have before me, shows that he found coal in abundance (he 
mentions 30 places), iron, argentiferous galena, zinc, copper, antimony, man- 
ganese, and bismuth. The minerals of the greatest utility and producing the 
greatest wealth to the community are coal and iron, lead and zinc ; and first of 
coal. Prof. David Dale Owen, in his geological report, mentions 30 places 
where he found coal. In speaking of the coal measures of Arkansas, he says t 
' ' Moreover, the extraordinary horizontality of the geological measures in West- 
ern Arkansas causes an extensive distribution of the strata containing the coal 
either near the surface or at a depth where the combustible material may be 
easily reached. ' ' And again, when speaking of the ascertained limits of other coal 
measures, and of the situation and extent of those of Arkansas, he says : " This 
shows the great value of the coal strata of Western Arkansas, and the advan- 
tage that would result to the State from an extensive and rich coal deposit. Not 
only the navigation of the Arkansas river would at a future time depend upon 
it, but it would supply with combustible material the inhabitants of the western 
prairies and direct the future construction of railroads, which are generally 
attracted by the coal as by a powerful magnet." Since Prof. Owen's survey, 

EXTENSIVE AND RICH COAL DEPOSITS 

have been found, and some of them developed, while others are but waiting the 
advent of the capitalist to render up their stores of dormant wealth. The coal 
taken from the mines opened has proven to be of the best quality, and as Pro- 
fessor Owen said, they have proved "a powerful magnet, " and have " attiacted" 
a railroad. Both the Ouita and the Spadra mines are situated on the Little 
Eock & Fort Smith Railroad. The Ouita is in Pope county, and is 70 miles 
from this city. Cars loaded at the mine can be delivered in St. Louis, Memphis, 
or any part of Texas, as the Fort Smith Railroad connects with the Memphis 
and the Iron Mountain. The Ouita mine is in the hands of enterprising citizens 
of this place, and they are ready to deliver any amount needed. The analysis 
of the coal shows it to be semi- anthracite of the best quality, and Messrs. Chau- 



380 



THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 



venet and Blair, analj^tical chemists, of St. Louis, say of it: "The result of 
the coal is very surprising to us. No coal as good as this for iron smelting 
occurs in Illinois, and the low of sulphur — say one per cent — is an additional 
advantage." A comparative analysis made by them of noted coals results 

as follows: 



Coal. 


"Water. 


Volatile. 


Fixed 
carbon . 


Sulphur. 


Ash. 


Ouita 


1.77 
1.31 

5.88 
6.75 
4.85 
'1.00 


12.66 
36.61 
32.81 
36.80 
39.31 
11.00 


80.46 
54.17 
57.66 
42.00 
45.30 
84.00 


0.78 
0.77 
0.75 
4.91 
0.76 
1.00 


5.11 




7.91 




3.65 




14.45 




10.00 




4.00 







Extensive and satisfactory tests have been made in iron foundries, on rail- 
roads, steamboats, etc., and everywhere the Ouita coal is found the best. The 
Spadra niines, situated 30 miles west on the same road, produce even better coal 
than this — an article that has been tested in the blast-furnaces of St. Louis and 
smelted iron. The Horsehead coal, on the same road, has been put to every 
test, and in all has proven to be superior to the analysis above given. In each 
of these mines the vein is about four feet thick. 

The cost of living at these mines is less than at any of the mines in the 
Northwestern or Middle States, and the coal can be mined more cheaply. 
Within a very short space of time the gap needed to connect the Fort Smith 
road with the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad at Fort Gibson will be closed, 
and by that route Kansas and the States north of it will be supplied with Ai'kan- 
sas coal. The Arkansas river, which for over 150 miles passes directly through 
the Arkansas coal measures, gives a cheap outlet that will enable the Arkansas 
coal to drive out all rivals from below its connection with the Mississippi river. 
But I cannot dilate longer on this subject, and must pass on. 



RICH IRON ORE 

has been found in various sections of the State, and in some instances, as at 
Spadra, in connection with coal. The writer is confident that he can point out, 
within a mile of a railroad, a section of land that contains a coal- vein nearly 
four feet thick, limestone in abundance, and rich iron ore. There are several 
rich and extensive deposits "of iron ore known to exist near transportation, the 
discoverers of which have not the money to enable them to work the mine, and 
are patiently waiting the arrival of men who can furnish it. "Looking-glass" 
iron-ore, now worth $80 per ton, has been discovered in considerable quantities 
in different places, and in fact all the hilly portions of the State are rich in this 
most valuable ore. 



CONCLUSION. 381 



ARGENTIFEROUS GALENA 



has been found in various sections. Tlie Kellogg mines, eight miles north of 
this city, were worked years ago, and only abandoned because of the war. 
Since that time until lately the owners have neglected them, but a short time 
since resumed work with good results. The Beller mines, in Sevier countj'^, in 
the southwestern part of the State, were discovered a short time previous to the 
late war. When it commenced they were abandoned, until the Confederate 
authorities had them worked to procure lead for the army. The ores from these 
mines are rich in silver. Professor Owen, in his report, gives the following 
analyses of two samples of lead from the 'Kellogg mines: "No. 1. A bright 
crystalhne-looking ore, gave by reduction 81.7 per cent, of metallic lead; by 
cupellation this lead gave a silver bead weighing 1.06 per cent, of the lead 
employed, which is equal to 339.2 ounces of silver in a ton of 2,000 pounds." 
"No. 2. A porous, fine-grained ore, with particles of talc disseminated, gave 
73.45 per cent, of metallic lead; this, by cupellation, gave .7 per cent, of silver,, 
equal to 224 ounces in a ton of 2,000 pounds." 

The specimens from the Beller mines yielded of lead 73 per cent, and by 
cupellation, of silver 52J ounces to the ton of lead. Speaking of the Kellogg 
mines Professor Owen says : "A vein possessing very similar characteristics 
has been observed during the progress of the work in the last two seasons at. 
various points in Saline, Montgomery and Pike counties." * * * xhe facts 
ascertained render it probable that the metaliferous veins exposed on Kellogg 
Creek, in Pulaski county, may be traced from that localitj^ in a southwest 
direction to the Indian boundary and beyond, and perhaps also to a considerable 
distance to the northeast. ' ' 

It must be remembered that this yield of silver is much larger than in many 
of the mines of Nevada and Colorado that are worked for silver alone. Profes- 
sor Owen was right when he said that the Kellogg veins could be ' ' traced 
southwest" through several counties. Subsequent explorations have proven 
this ; and not onlj^ southwest but northwest, for silver-bearing lead has been 
discovered and is now being worked in Newton county, by experienced miners 
from the Joplin mines in Missouri. Besides the ore already mentioned, Pro- 
fessor Owen gives the analysis of many specimens taken from different parts of 
the State, not only of iron, coal and lead, but of manganese and zinc of excep- 
tional richness. 

What I have spoken of proves my assertion that Arkansas is the richest in 
minerals of any State in the Union, and I shall pass on to other subjects. 

It has been said reproachfully of Arkansas that it was behind all the other 
States in the building of railroads, but the men who have and do say this do not 
reflect that Arkansas has 

3,500 MILES OP NAVIGABLE RIVERS, 

and that- the more costly transportation of railroads has not been needed here so 
much as in States that are wholly dependent upon that method for the removal 



^382 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

Tal of crops. But when the map of the State is examined it will be found that 
Arkansas is not so deficient in railroads as has been alleged. It is true that 
there are but 850 miles of railroad in the State, but they have been judiciously- 
built. The Cairo & Fvilton, now called the 

ST. LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILROAD, 

traverses the State from the northeast to the southwest, connecting at St. Louis 
-and at Cairo with all the railroads of the northwest and east, and at Texarkana, 
on the Texas border, with the entire railway system of Texas. 

This road passes through 13 counties, and is the great artery for trade and 
ti-avel from the southwest. It owns 2,000,000 acres of land, within 20 miles of 
its track ; is constructed in the very best manner, and is destined to be one of 
the great highways of commerce. 

THE MEMPHIS & LITTLE ROOK RAILROAD, 

commencing at Memphis, runs almost due west to this city 135 miles, passing 
through six counties, and connecting in the same depot with the St. Louis, Iron 
JVIountain & Southern and the Fort Smith railroads. At Memphis, where the 
trains are transferred by steamer, this road connects with the road leading to 
Louisville, Ky., and all points in the Middle States; with the Memphis & 
Charleston, which furnishes connection with all the South Atlantic States, and a 
direct line to the Eastern cities, and with the Mississippi & Tennessee, which 
gives a connection with the Gulf States and Alabama. 

THE LITTLE ROCK & FORT SMITH RAILROAD, 

starting from the Union depot at Little Rock, runs on a line a little north of 
west, near the north bank of the Arkansas river, and is finished to within 40 
miles of Fort Smith, on the Indian border, and this is now under contract and 
will be completed before the first of July, 1876, when an extension of 50 miles 
through the Indian Territory will connect this road with the Missouri, Kansas 
■& Texas road, and through it with all the railway system of Kansas and the 
far West. 

The New Orleans, Pine Bluff" & Little Rock Railroad is completed from Chicot 
City, on the Mississippi river, to Pine Bluff, on the Arkansas, and the 40 miles 
between that point and Little Rock will be built by July, 1876, when a new 
line of communication for St. Louis and all the Northwest will be opened to 
.New Orleans and the South, reaching by rail the bank of the great river below 
all danger of ice or sand-bars. 

The Ai'kansas Central (narrow-gauge) extends from Helena 60 miles west to 
White river, through one of the richest bodies of land in the world, and will 
soon be completed to this point. Thus, it will be seen that while we have not 
enough railroads, jet we have some of the most important lines built, and the 
feeders to the great highways will soon follow immigration. Enough of this, 
iiowever. Let us turn to other subjects. 

Arkansas is one of the best States for the establishment of 



CONCLUSION. 383 

MANUFACTORIES OF ALL KINDS. 

There is now a considerable quantity of wool grown in the State, and our 
railroads put us in immediate and close connection with the wool-growing 
sections of Texas, destined soon to be the largest wool-producing part of the 
continent. The fact that the cotton-mills of England and New England are now 
closed, while those of Georgia and other Southern States are being run on full 
time, and are paying large dividends, is the best proof that cotton should be 
manufactured where it is grown, if the articles needed to assist in the manufacture 
can be conveniently procured. As I have already shown, coal for fuel exists here 
in great abundance and of the best quality, and there is more available water- 
power in Arkansas than in any five named States. These are sufficient reasons 
why cotton and woolen factories should be established here. But above all 
things, the abundance and variety of good timber and the proximity of markets 
point to Arkansas as the place for the manufacture of 

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS AND FURNITURE. 

Here we have every variety of timber used for these purposes, with living, 
labor and fuel cheap, and rail or water communication in every direction. No 
greater advantages can be found anjnvhere than are offered here for these classes 
of manufactures. 

STOCK-RAISING 

/ 

is another branch of industry that can be followed here with yery great profit. 
The mildness of the climate lessens materially the cost of raising any kind of 
stock. The ground never remains frozen during the day, but in the coldest 
weather thaws out whenever the sun strikes it. Almost every month in the year 
cattle, horses or sheep, running at large or in pastures, will find something to eat, 
making less feeding necessary. The hills and valleys are covered from April 
November with fine grasses, and the bottom-lands with switch-cane, always till 
green. As I have previously shown, all kinds of grain and grasses for feed 
can be raised in great quantities. In every part of the State, except the Mis- 
sissippi bottoms, there is an abundance of pure cool water, and there is no 
reason why stock of all kinds cannot be profitably raised. All who have tried 
the experiment have made it a success. 



I have thus briefly glanced at the advantages of Arkansas for settlers of all 
kinds, and have quoted from the highest authorities to sustain my assertions. 
As much has been said about our taxes, before closing I will show what is the 
utmost limit of taxation permitted. 

Under the constitution adopted in 1874 the State can only levy five mills for 
general purposes and five mills to pay the interest on the public debt. Thus 
taxes for State purposes can never be over one per cent. , and one-fifth of this 
must go the public schools. The same limitation is laid upon counties and 



384 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

municipal corporations. No county, city or town can levy more than five mills 
for general purposes and five mills for interest. This limitation extends to 
everything but school districts. The voters in each school district can tax 
themselves as much as they choose to vote for school purposes. Besides the 
tax voted by any school district, it is entitled to its proportionate share of the 
State school fund, which is made up of a two-mill tax levied on all the property 
of the State, of the poll-tax (which is one dollar on every man of voting age), 
and of all fines and forfeitures and sales of all lands belonging to the school fund. 
By this means each school district can provide for the education of its own 
children, ai\d the State at large pays a portion of the expense. A law passed 
at the last session exempts all capital in manufacturing from taxation for 
seven years. 

It is true that there are occasional outrages against law committed in the 
State, and the criminals often escape unpunished. This is not so much the 
result of bad laws as of vitiated public opinion, which is being rapidly corrected, 
and which the infusion of a few thousand law-abiding citizens from the North- 
west would entirely cure. In fact, the "roughs" of border civilization are 
drifting away, and as they are swallowed up in the two great maelstroms of time 
and "the west," all the evils that sprung from their peculiar code will be among 
the things of the past. The question is often asked, 

HOW ARE NORTHERN MEN TREATED? 

and I answer that, with the exception of a few fossil remains of a past age, they 
are as well received and as well treated here as strangers would be in any 
country. In fact, they would be welcomed as the harbingers of the dawn of 
another day — a time of prosperity and peace. As a matter of course, strangers 
going into a strange land must first show, bj'- their own actions, that they " are 
worthy and well qualified " before they will be treated as being so ; but when 
this is done, the Northern man is as well treated here, and as welcome to a large 
majority of the citizens, as the Southern man. There is no question of the 
fact that thousands, both of the native and foreign-born citizens of the great 
Northwest, are dissatisfied. To such I say, Arkansas is the home you are 
seeking. Come and see it. You will not find my pictures overdrawn. Rich 
lands, good water, a genial climate and a heart}^ welcome await you. 



OPlJNiON OF TkLK. GERMAN PRESS. 



CHAPTER XV. 



^xt^eit hex hentf^tn ^xeffe. 



S)te ^erren X. S3. 2SiII§ u. (Eo. jinb Bemii^, il^rem bemnad^ft erfd^einenben ^ud}e aud^ 
unter bent beutfc^en ^ubU!um bie roeit mbgnd^fte SBerfirettung gu oeryd^affen, zmb l^aben borum 
bie auf bie @jcurfion nad^ 2tr!an[a§ foraof)! al§ auf bie ^robuItionSfa^tgfett con 2Irfanjag Bejiigs 
lid^en 2lrti!e[ after beutfd}en 3eitungen ImeriifaS ge[ammmelt unb nadjfotgenb jufammengefteKt. 
@§ fonnen jid^ barauS alle ©eutfc^en, raeldje geneigt ftnb, fid^ in 2tv!anfa§ mebetjulaffen, roertl^*- 
DoUe 3Iu§!unft f)olen: 



■tt »9* — 



MlB^ftUc^e ^off ®t* Som§, mo. 



ttnefi 5p. OlS^aufen, ©orregponbcnt. 



per ^imf(f;w«ng in JtrRaitfas. 

2trlanfa§ ift einer berjenigen ©taaten, iiBer beffen 2ld^er6au = SSer^altniffe im ©anjen no(^! 
raenig ^ofititJeS pr l?enntni§ be§ attgemeinen ^uBIi!umg gelangt ift, natiirlid) nid^t jum 3]ortl^eiI. 
jeneS ©taateS felbft. SBoran eg a6er jur ^erbeifiiJ^riing fiefferer SSerljattniffe fel^Ite, ba§ roarett 
ber §auptfad)e nad^ flei^ige, au§bauernbe, mit ber rationellen 2tu§Beutung beg in Dieter S^ejiel^ung 
reid^en Sobeng etroag oertrauten ^^'Oi^iTiei^- ®a3U Beburfte eg einer jal^Ireic^en ©inroanberung con 
bent ©d)lage berjenigen, bie Big jet^t i^ren SBeg nad^ a)liffouri, SUinoig, SCigconftn unb ^oraa 
nal^nt. Unb urn biefe ju geroinnen, ntu^te ben (Sinroanberern bie Slugfic^t auf einen ntogIid)ft,. 
guten ©rfolg itjreg aSagniffeg erbffnet raerben. 3n biefer Mc^tung finb nun in ben leitenben 
5lreifen jeneg ©taateg entfc^eibenbeSdjritte getl^an raorben. ^n erfter Sinie ift l^ierl^in ber emfige 
gortfdiritt in bem fc^on gum gro^en unb bebeutenbften 2:i^eite ooKenbeten SBeiterBau ber ^roit 
3Wountain unb ©outEiern S^ailroat) ju red^nen. 

Unt ber ^reffe ©elegenfjeitgu geSen, fid^ iiBer bie in 2lr!anfag bem Sanbroirti^e geBotenen 
SCugfid^ten gu informiren, tear con ber Sjerrcaltung genannter @ifen6a^n, unter ber Seitung beg 
Sanb=(5ontmi)'fionerg ^. 2B. SougljBoroug^ in Sittle diod, eine ©intabung an bie ^preffe ergangen 
fidi'an einer ju biefem 3roedE ceranftatteten „ebitorial ©scurfion" ju Bet^eiligen. S" iier 3af)t 
con einigen 70 fanben fid; benn audt) ant 3l6enb beg 28. ©eptemBerg bie Sfieprdfentanten ber i^er- 
corragenbften 3eitungen aug alten 2Beft= unb Siittelftaaten am ^ron fountain ®epot ein. 2)er 
^ug einem ^affagier= unb 4 ^utlman^Sd^tafroagen Beftel^enbe 3ug fe^te fid^ gegen 9 U^r iti 



2 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

S3etce.gung uub bie ©Ecurfioniften mad^ten e§ fic^ in iljxen referoirten „SertE)§" fiequem. 2tm 
3Korgen be§ 30. befanb man jtc^ Bereitg auf bem Soben Don 2lr!anfag unb jeber etnjelne ber 
l^eberl^etben loarf feinen Jt'ennerblicf auf bie Utngegenb. Sie fumpfige ©egenb, raetc^e fid^ au§ 
■bem fiiboftlid^en aJJiffouri noc| eine furje ©trecfe in ba§ norbo[tIicf)e 2lc!anfag auSbefint, raar 
JereiiS iiberfd^ritten. SBir paffirlen 3}toarf, ©orning unb D'J^ean (214 3Keiten), S)amit bie 
©eifter i£)re Seb[)aftigfeit nitfit Kerloren, §atte §err ®. ®. ^priber, oon ber ©t. Souifer 33ranc|e 
ber „?lapa & ©onoma SBine ©o.", ftc§ mit geniigcnber Quantitat eigenen 3Bad^§t^um§ oon 
onerfannter Qualitat Derfe^en, raofiir i§m geroi^ ?Jiemanb gram raar, benn ber 3Sorratl^ con 
©aUfornia ^ortroein unb Otilbesl^eimer Derringerte fic^ hod) allmal^lig, or)ne jeboc^ aug= 
gugel^en. 

turj Dor ^Reroport am SB^ite 3tiDer (225 ajieilen, 84 aK. uon Sittle diod) erfilidten «ir b^e 
€rften Saumro oUpf lanjungen, bie, in 2In6etrac!^t i^rer nocf) jiemlid^ norblii^en ^age, bod) 
ted^t gut ftanben, unb lafit fic^ roof)! be^aupten, ba^ oon bort an fiibtid^ bie SSaumrooUfuWur bet 
etnigermafeen guter SBirtl^fc^aft fc^on il^re 3''ife" bringen roiirbe. S)er 3^9 iiberfd^reitet ben 2BI§ite 
Iftioer unb erreid;te gegen 2 U^r 2ittle Diod", mo ein ©omite mit 3)lufi! bie ©afte empfing. SO^an 
|atte fiir 33efocberungberfelbennad§ bar ©tabt bie beftenSSorfel^rungen getroffen. ©in |ebe§ ber 
®omite=aKitgUeber naf)m einen Xi)eii ber ©cifte in ©mpfang unb geteitete fie in bie eigene 3Bo]^= 
nung,tt)oam i^amilientifd^e ba§ reic^Iic^e 3JJittaggmal^[ eingenommen raurbe. SRan l^atte forool^I 
i^ierbeimie bei ber nac!^folgenben3Serbauung9=^lauberei ootlauf ©etegen^eit, bie ©aftfreunbfd^aft 
ber ©inrao^nerconSittteSiodim ©tiCen ju preifen. Siefe ben ©ubianber jofort lennjeid^nenbe 
©igenfd^aft beroSfirte fid^ auc^ l^ier. 

2luf einen ©ange burd) bie ©tabt rourbe aud) bem Q>aai ber §anbel§!ammer ein Sefuc^ 
abgeftattet, raoprad^tige ^roben oon SaummoIIe, 33efen!orn, Stepfein unb Sirnen oon ber 
iprobuctiongfdf)ig!eit beg Sanbeg berebteg Q^^S'i^B ablegten. ^^^i-'ner tagen bort ^roben einer 
■eigentlid^ erftfeit ^anuar 1874gen)onnenen auggejeid^neteni^otpleoor, roeldieauS ^ ope ©ount^, 
nid^troeit Don Sittle 3{od, ftammt. S)ie D-u ita 6oa I 6o., feit ^anuar 1874incorporirt, l^at 
biefe 5?of)Ie Bon ©^auoenet unb 33Iair analpfiren laff en unb erf)ielt bie giinftigften Sftefultate, monad^ 
bie ^Hinoifer It'o^Ie bei SCeitem an Dualitat iibertroffen, jmb bie ^ennfploanier beinaf)e erreid^t 
n)trb, bemnad^ getroft bie ©oncurrenj mit anberen ^o^ten aufnel^men faun.. 3KitteIft guter 
S;ran§port=@eIegen§eiten fann fie Ieid)t ju $6.50 big $7.00 per Sionne nad^ ©t. Soutg ge= 
Jiefert merben. 

®in ©egenftanb oon befonberem ^ntereffe in Sittle 3tod t[t bag oon S;. 33. SKillg & © o. 
€tngeridE)tete Sefejimmer mit iiber 700 geitungen, beren Qa'i)l nod^ beftanbig oermel^rt roirb. 

2lm 2lbenbbeg29. roavb fiir bie ©afte in ber ©oncorbia^^aEe ein glanjenbeg 33anfett arran- 
girt, bei roeld^em alle aJotabiUtaten ber ©tabt jugegen roaren. ^n ben jal^(reic£)en, rafd^ l^inter; 
€inanber folgenben S^oaften rourbe mitSledit bagraiebererraadEite unbaltentfjalben fid^ offenbarenbe 
©efiil^t ber ©intrad^t unb 3>ifammenge]^orig!eit ber 3'iorb= unb ©iibftaaten mit S^Jac^brud betont. 
®em Steid^tfium an SJiineralien, J?oE)Ien, ^eilqueUen unb alien fonftigen 3tefourcen murben jugleid^ 
mit bem raieberauftaud^enben ©eioerbflei^ feparate S^o'afte geraibmet. 

©0 blieb man nod^ big ein U^r beim feftUd^en Wal)U, ju roeld^er ©tunbe rair ung roieber in 
fete ©d)tafiDagen begaben, mit bem aSerou^tfein, ba^ man nirgenbg einen freunblid^eren ©mpfang 
erfialten Eann atg in Stttle 3{od. 

griif) am 9J^orgen beg 30. ©eptember in aiialoern an^etangt, marb ben ©jcurfioniften 
erft nod) reid^lid^ 3eit gegonnt,fic^ augsufd^tafen.^annerftoerlie^ennjir unfern ©Etra3ug,nal^men 
bag ^rii^ftiid ein, unb beftiegen bie fd)ma(fpurige Sal^n, raeld)e bemnadjft btrectnad) §ot©pringg 
fii^ren foil, big je|t aber erft jur §dtfte fal)rbar ift. 2Senige SJ^inuten oor ber 2lbfal)rt p]^otogra= 
pl)irte §err ©. ii. Dieeb oon Sjot ©pringg bie ganje auf bem 3»3 befinbtii^e ©efetlfd^aft,n)rtd^e, 
bann burd) ben bid^ten SBalb ba^infu^r. Sim ©nbpunfte ber 58a^n empfing ung ein ©omite aug 
§ot ©pringg unb geleitete ung in ^oft= unb 2lmbulan3=3Bagen unb ^utfd^en nad; §ot ©pringg, 
500 loir in me[)reren ber J^eroorragenbften hotels einquartiert murben. ©leidE) bei 2In!unft bafelbft 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 3 

•murben un§ bie Saber jur freien Seim^ung iiberlafjen. S)ie|er ©inlabung fotgte natitrlit^ nad^ 
ntefirftunbtger %a^xt auf ftaubigem unb l^od^ft unelJenem 3[Sege ^^eber gerne, tuancljev freitid^ nid^t, 
ol^ne fief) burd^ ba§ ungerool^nte l^eifie 33ab etne (SrMItung jujusiet^en. 

SBtr ert)ielten bort bie ©erDx^l^eit, ba^lQot ©pringg jur SCufnaljme Don oieteu §unberten Don 
jlurgaften auf'g 35e[te Dorbereitet ift. 

3lbenb§ fanb gro^e „9?eception" trnb in jroei ber gro^ten §otel§ groJ5eS Xansoergniigen 
(vulgo '-Hop'") ftatt. 

2lm 1. Dctober, gegen 8 lll^r, iDurbe bie Mfi'fal^rt nac^ ber ©tation ber fd^malfpurigen 
®ifenl6a[;n ongetreten, unb Don ^ier au§, nad^ STcalDern juriidfgelangt, trennte fidj eine SCnjafjl 
S^eilnefimer Don ber ©jcurfion unb toanbte fid; roieber [jeimroctrtg, raal^renb bieanberen if)ren 2Beg 
nad) 2lr!abelp!^ia (jum barbecue) unb ^ejarfana fortfe^ten. 

S)er Qmed biefer ©Ecurfion, ben SKitgliebern ber ^veffe einen ©inbliiJ in bie 33oben= unb 
€ommunicationo=33erpttniffe be§ ©taateg gu geroa^ren, tft errei(i)t. SSir l^aben gejel^en : bafj 
SSaumrootte, jeglic^eS Dbft, 3Bein unb ©etreibe mit einigem ^^'e*'^ ^'ort fo gut cuUiDirt werben 
Jbnnen, alg fonftroo ; ba^ in bem ^nneren Don 21[r!anfa§ bie roertl^DoIlften mineratifrfien ©dE)a^e 
t)orl§anben finb ; ba^ bie ©inroo^ner energifd^'Befirebt finb, if)ren ©taat in jeber Sejiel^ung ju 
I)eben; barbie ©inraanberer auf l^erjlid^en (Smpfang unb roillige Unterftii^ung bafelbft red^nen 
iijunen ; unb ba^ (Eapital bort ebenfaUg bie Dortl^eilfjaftefte SSerroenbnng ftnben fann. S)er ©taat 
ift fiir atte Sebiirfniffe Don allerlei ®oinmunication§=2Jiittetn burd^jogen, unb 3tu[)e unb Drbnung 
i^errfc£)t im Sanbe. g^reilid^ ift ba§ fiir einen SJiiffourier nod^ Seine 3Seranlaffung, 3tr!anfa§ Dor 
bem gefegneten 3)iiffouri ben SJorjug jugeben, egmUpebenn auf ©runb begmilberenilfimaS fein 



^et M^K>i5^fteutt&/' Ctiicttiiiati, ^|>ii?* 



^. f8. ®. %Um. 



§ot ©pringS, 2lrf., 1. Dct. 1875. 

Iftad^bem id^ am le^ten SJiontag Sincinnati Derlaffen, ging eS mit ©ampfeSfd^nelfe bem 
3iele meiner 3teife, bem fernen ©iibraeften ju. 

3n ©t. SouiS langte ber 3iig a" Sienftag a^orgen an, alfroo fid) bie 33etr;eiliger an ber 
„®bitorg (gjcurfion" fiir 2lrfanfag Derfammelten, um beg Slbenbg 9 ]Xi)x per „3ron 2)iOuntain 9^. 
dt." nad) Sittle 9iocf abjufal^ren. 

3n ©t. 2out§ finb bie ©efdEiafte nod^ Diet flauer alS in ©incinnatt; in ben bebeutenbften 
©tra^en ift ein grower S^eil oon ^aben gefc^Ioffen unb ju Derrenten, bennod^ mufi id^ geftel^en, 
bafi bie ©tabt al§ fold^e fic^ in ben te^ten fiinf ^ai^ren bebeutenb Derbeffert fiat. 

2l[§ loir be§ 2(benb§ ©t. Soui§ DerfieJ3en, l^atten fid^ etraa 120 3Sertreter oerfd^iebener 3ei= 
iungen eingefunben, barunter etroa ein ®u^enb ©eutfd^e. 

^c^ fjtttte bag JBergniigen mit bem2ld^tb. Sogan §. dtoot^ au§ Sittle 3todE eine ©ection in 
ber ^uHman ©feeping 6arg ju tl)eifen. 

Sie ganje ©efellf^aft roar treujfibel unb raurben roir Don Derfcf)iebenen le&engfuftigen §er= 
rcn — barunter Tlajox ©ibfon Dom ©t. i^ouig „®emDcrat" unb ©eneral fierce Don Sittle SRod — big 
gegen Sltitternad^t burt^ l^itbfd^e ilieber unb f"omifd;e SSortrage erl^eitert. 2fn einem guten ©lafe 
SBeitt unb einem dd^ten alten „33ourbon" fe^fte e§ freilid^ aud^ nid^t. 

2lm aJiittrood^ a)Zorgen trafen rair in ^ocaf)Dntag, 2trf., ein. ®ie ©t. Souig unb 3rott 
SRountain ©ifenbal^n l^at f)ier SSerbinbung mit ber ©airo^ unb gulton 93a^n. 



4 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

5pocn^onta§ ift bie §auptftabt oon 3tanbotpl^ So. unb ga^tt etraa 600 (Sinrool^ner ; ba§ 
©ountt) bcigegen rairb 8 5tg 900 jci^ten, l^at bereitg iiber 60 ©d^ulew, 25 IirdE)en unb ein S)u^enb 
^oftofficen. 

33on ^oca^onta§ ging e§ nad^ 2BaInut Jtibge, rao gefriil^ftutft raurbe. ^n SBalnut Stibge 
rourbe etnige ©tunben ange^atten, bamit ftd^ bie ®Ecurjioniften bie ©egenb anfe[;en !onnten. 
©d^icarje SSciren unb §irfd^e foKen nod^ ntafjen^aft in biefer ©egenb cori^anben fein. ^erc ^rof. 
S- Srott oon SeKecitte, ^11, §ie[t un§ aCf)ier fo mitten im Urioalbe eine Sorlefung iibec fein XsU 
lurium. ^rof. SroIfS SeUuriunt ift mit einem Ul^rraer! in SSerbinbung gefe^t. 3)2ittelft beffen 
bref)t fid^ ber bie ©cbe barfteltenbe ©lotuS in 24 ©tunben von SGeften nod^ Often um feine 2ldjfe 
unb in 365 Xaq^n ebenfaltS con SCeften nad^ Dfteu um bie ©onne. Surd) bie erftere Seraegung: 
roerben bie S^agegjeiten t)eranfc£)auUd^t unb auf einen !teinent 3iffei'6ti'tt bie ©tunben angejeigt; 
burd) bie groeiterroatittte aje^egung unb bie fid^ gleid^bleibenbe fd^iefe ©tellung ber ©rbad^fe jur 
©rbfia^n rairb biellrfad^e beg Sa^regjeitenraedjfetS unb ber 9Serfd;iebenl^eit ber eigentUcE)enSage§j 
lange in ben oerjcEiiebenen ^a^reggeiten gur 2lnfd)aung ge5rad)t. ®in ©tal&d^en, bag a(§ Srager 
eineg ®(eid)geraid)t§ bient, jeigt Monaie unb S^age an. 

aiSa^renb bie ©rbfugel jene 35eroegungen auSfii^rt, beraegt fid^ ber 3Wonb in 29J SCagen 
oon 3Beftennad^ Dften in egcentrifdier unb 3ur ®!Iiptic fc^iefer 33a[}n um bie @rb!uge£ unb mit 
berfelfien um bie Sonne unb geroa^rt eine Hare 2lnfd^auung ber oerfd^iebenen SRonbpl^afen unb 
bie Urfad^en von aTconb^ unb ©onnenfinfterniffen. 

^rof. Xxoli, ber ©rfinber biefeg 2lpparat§, ift Se^rer, er l^att SJortrtige iiber bie often. 
erraa[)nten ©rfc^einungen, bie er mittelft feineg Stpparateg barftellt unb er![art ; er i^ielt cor etraa 
fiinf 3af)ren eine 58orIefung in ber Cincinnati ^urn^aUe. ©c|Ue^Ud£) ift nod^ gu errociljuen, ba^ 
§err %voK feinen jel^t oerftefferten 2Ipparat leidjt augeinanber genommen unb namentltd^, iia^ 
burd) eine einfad^e S^orrid^tung bie Uf)r con bem iiSrigen Staberraer! loggelbft raerben !ann, fiir 
ben '^all, ba^ man bie ooHftiinbige ja^rtic§e SBeraegungen beg SBettforperg in raenigen aJiinuten 
vox Stugen fiil^ren railt. Qn biefem ^roed ift ber 2lpparat mit einer !teinen J?ur5et oerfel^en, unb 
lann [jierburc^ mit ber §anb in 33eraegung gefe^t raerben. 

33on SBatnut Stibge fuEiren rair bire!t nad) Sittle 3?od ©ree!, rao rair aufg freunbtid^fte 
empfangen raurben. S)ie beutfdEien Surger ftritten fidE) formlid^ um beutfd^e ©cifte. 3d) raurbe- 
von §errn 3t. J?upferle eingelaben, raeld^er ftc^ aUe 3Jtiil^e gab mir bie ©tabt unb Umgegeub ju 
geigen. §err Jlupferle f)a(t einen prad)t»o[ten ©aroon unb ift gteic^jeitig Slgent fiir It'auffmanti 
& (So. Sager6ier=Srauerei unb !ann man l^ier ebenfo guteg unb frifd^eg Sier r)al6en alg in ®incin= 
nati fefbft. 

Sittte 3lod, bie ^auptftabt oon 2lr!anfag, ja!^lt na^e an 20,000 (Sinroo^ner, oon raeld^en bie 
§alfte Seutfd)e fiub ; SreiBiertet ber t)iefigen ©efd}aftG(eute follen, raie mir gefagt raurbe, 
S)eutfc^e fein. 93ig oor jraei ^a^ren gab eg l^ier fe^r uiete beutfd)e 3tepubli!aner, aber je^t ift eg 
!aum mogticf) einen aufjutreiben. Sjerr i?upferle roar fo freunblid), mic^ beg 3^ad^mittagg nad) 
x)erfd)iet)enen ©otton^g^elberrt ju fii^ren, raeld)e je|t, ba biefelben in ooller Stiit^e ftet;en, einen 
prad)tooHen 2lnbtid geraaf)ren. 

S)ie 35aumraoIIenernte foil biefeg '^a^v eine fe^r reid^e raerben, benn in ber SfZad^barfd^aft 
con Sittle 5tod red^net man auf 1| SaHen per 2lder. Seg Slbenbg roar gro^eg banquet in 
ber „Soncorbia=§alIe," rao, raie immer, bie iiblid^en „©peecE)eg" getjalten raurben. ®ennod§ mu^ 
id) ben aSiirgern oon Sittle Stod nolten ©rebit fiir if)r fjerjlid^eg (Sntgegenfommen geben, man 
fa^ ii^nen an, ba^ fie eg el^rlidE) mit il^ren norblid^en 3Jiitbiirgern meinten. Qd) f)orte cerfdjiebene 
§erren fagen: 100,000 beutfd)e ©inraanberer ift alleg, raag unfer ©taat bebarf. S)'ag Sanquet 
bauerte big 3 IX^r Sonnerftag aJiorgeng, rao ftd^ bie ©efetlfdiaft iiber SRaloern nad) §ot ©priugg, 
bem amerifanifd^en 33aben= 33aben, begab. 9^ac^ §ot ©prtngg gelangt eine ©efellfdjaft oon etraa 
150 ^erfonen aber nidjt fo leidjt, alg id) eg mir oorgefteUt fjatte, benn alle ©arriageg, §adg, 
aSuggieg unb g-armerinagen Don etraa 50 aJJeilen im Quabrat, mu^ten requirirt raerben, um ung 
am ®nbe ber neuen (Sifenbat^n, etraa 20 Tleilen na^ ijot ©pringg, abjufjolen. ©in fd^led;terer Sffieg 
la^t ficE) nid)t leidE)t finben. 3lun benfe man fid; unfere ^artljie, breije^u an ber ^a^l, t;attcn bag' 
©liidE (?) einen 2Bagen, ungefaljr fo conftruirt, raie bie gro^en it'ol)lenraagen, auf raeld^en fiinf raul^e. 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 5 

33rctter quer ilberlagen, ju biefet: 3Sergnugung§reife ju err;atten. S)iefe %a'i)vt ratrb ben baratt Ses 
J^eiltgten nod^ Satire Tang im ©ebad&tni^ bleiben. 211^ roir bennocf) in $ot ©pring§ angeJommen 
roaren, l)eiterte fid) bie gan^e ©efellfc^aft gleid^ auf unb innerlfialB raeniger 2)Jtnuten root aHeS 
roieber guter Saune. 

§ot ©pringS jal^tt !6ereit§ iiber 4,000 ©inrool^ner. ®ie §alfte ber ©efdiaftSpufer ftnb 
©eutfcl^e, itjorunter mel^rere atte ©incinnatter. 

Sd§ traf l^ter unter anberen ©eneral 2B. ^. 2BaIfl^, ein fruiterer ©rfiullamerab con §errn 
^of. 21. §eman, @eo. 21. SKemiger unb ^. ©teineife. §err ©teinede t'ft mit bem §errn ©lar! — 
aud^ ein frii^erer ©incinnatier — in ein eteganteS 2tpotf)e!ergefd^aft eingetreten, unb mad^t l^ier 
auSgejeid^nete Oefd^afte, er lix^t feine nielen ^-reunbe in ©incinnati grii^en. 

2lud[j traf id^ §errn Dttoma Xo-p'f im §ot ©pring §oufe. ^^err STopf ift l^ier mit feiner %xavi 
©emal^Iin, raelc^e 5ei if)rer 2lnfunft, uor etroa 10 Siagen, !aum gel^en fonnte, bod^ je^t Berett§ 
ganj munter f)erumge[)t. 2)ie l^iefigen Duellen follen wirfUd^ rounberBar raitfen, biefelBen liegen 
etraa 1400 ^u^ iiBer ber a}Zeere§oBerf[ad^e unb einige l^unbert %n'^ l^ofier a(g baS ©tabtd^en, fo 
ba^ faft jebeS §otel mit §ei§en Scibern oerfel^en ift. 

®a§ Staffer ber f)ei^en Duelle l^at ungefal^r 148 ®rab ^5. unb fann in bemfelBen innerfialb 
15 2)Zinuten ein (Si meid^ getocf)t raerben. 

S)e§ 2[5enbg raurbe ben ©jcurfioniften ju ®l^ren ein grower 93aH gegeBen, Bet roeld^em eS 
fe^r luftig t)erging. S)ie junge 3ZoBIeffe au§ bem ©taate 2lr!anfag war oertreten. ®g roaren 
raenigftenS 25 ©enerateunb 50 DBerften anroefenb. ^^ glouBe bie ©iibtanber ftnb nod^ mel^r gur 
S;itelfud}t geneigt wie il^re norbUcf)en SJitBiirger, roenigftenS prte id^ niemanben mit einem nies 
berern ^itel al§ ©olonet anreben. Stlfo l^eute 3)Jorgen um 8 Ul^r get)t e§ raieber raeiter iiBer TlaU 
oern nai^ 2lrfabelp^ia unb »on bort nad^ 2:^ejar!ana. S)em ^rogramm gemd| foE in 2lr!abelpl^ia 
ein — rate cor friit)eren ^at^ren — in 2lrlanfa§ iiBIid)e§ „Barbecue" aBge^alten raerben. 

%§iiri). 



-""'""'ff WH-Mfr^ ^^-HIBW 



Sittre SfJocf, 2lr!., 3. Oct. 1875. 

Sine Bofe j^a^irt raar e§, bie un§ con §ot ©pring§ Malvern entgegen Brad^te. 2)er 3Bae 
gen, ber un§ l^ier^in Beforberte, ftanb fd^on raieber be§ ^OiorgeuS um l^alB ad£)t U^r cor bem 
„2lrtington §otel." 2Kajor ©iBfon oon ©t. 2oni§>, raetcfier fid^ Bi§ bal^in in Befter Saime Befanb, 
cerftummte auf einmal, al§ er benfelBen erBIicEte, unb id^, id^ bad^te Bei mir : aJJein ©ott, roarum 
tiaft bu mid) nertaffen ! 

(Segen ^alB neun U^r fe|te fid) bie J^aranane in 33eroegung, aud^ ging e§ eine ©tunbe lang 
fo jiemtid^, Bi§ etraa 3 2}ieilen oon §ot ©pringS entfernt, bie ^ferbe eineS 3Sierfpanner§, ba§ 
SDritte im ©ef-olge — rair raaren SfJo. 4 — fd^eu raurben unb in rafenbem ©atopp ben fteilen §iige[ 
l^inunter jagten. S)ie Beiben oorberen ©efpanne raaren gegroungen, fidj in grbfjter ©ile aug bem 
©tauBe jumadjen, um nid)t oom Written UBerjagt ju raerben unb unfer SreiBer fonnte feine ^ferbc 
foum juriidi^atten, fo baJ5 rair bie ganje It'ataftropl^e cor Stugen !§atten. ©o ging e§ raofjl eine 
SSierte£meite BergaB, Big ein§ ber Dorberen ^ferbe beg britten ©efpannS nut bem red^ten SSorbers 
fu^ in ba§ 3iab be§ jraeiten SBageng tratunb benfelBen gerabe oBer§aIB be§ §ufeg aBBrad^, raoBei 
ber aSagen an eine ^^enj anprallte. SBct^renb biefer JBettfa^rt i^atten fid^ Berfd^iebene ©jcurfio* 
niften burc^ einen !itf)nen ©prung ju retten gefudit; aBer gerabe biefe raaren e§, raeld&e leid^te 
Quetfd}ungen baoon trugen. ©eneral 3iotta!en oon ^utagfr) ©ountr), 3lr!., jagte bem BefdE)abtgs 
ten ?[?ferbe eine J^ugel burd^ ben it'opf unb bann ging eg raeiter. SBir famen um 2 ltt)r beg Jiad^s 
tnittagg in 9Jiatt)ern an, aErao ber 3ug fur 2trfabetpl^ia unb Sejarfana auf ung raartete. 

21r!abelp^ia, bie §auptftabt oon dlaxt ©ountri, liegt 75 d)Mkn fiibraeftlid^ oon Sittle ^od, 
am red)ten Ufer beg SBafl^ita 'Siiviet, ga^tt ungefa^r 1500 ©inraol^ner, raar raa^renb beg Siirger^ 
Iriegeg ein §auptftapel=: unb SBaffenpfal fiir bie ©taaten 2l[r!anfag, SJiiffouri unb Souifiana. 
©lar! ©ountr) ial)lt na^e an 12,000 (SinraoEiner, ^at 25 ©d^ulen, 18 Mrd^en unb 7 ^poftofficen- 
S)iefeg ©ountt) f d)eint ein auggejeid^neteg fur (Sinraanberung ^u fein. 



6 THE NEW are:a:nsas travelers. 

3lad) 5j3ulagh) ®ountt) raiirbe mir ©tarf ©ountt) am 16eften gefalTen. ®§ rccire roop l^ier 
am ^[a|e, einige SBcrte im SlKgemeinen iibcr ben ©taat 2lrlanfag ju fagen. SCiianfaS, ber 
jrabtfte ©taat ber Union, raurbe am 15. '^nnx 1836 in ben a^ereinigten ©taaten SiJerbanb aufge- 
nommen, liegt norblid^ Don Souifiano, oftlid^ con Xz^a^ unb 3n^i«"er=2::erritovium, fiibttc^ t)on 
3}tifjouri unb raeftUd) Bom aKiffiffippi IRvoev. ®er je^ige ©taat 2lrfanfa§ ift ein 2:(}eil beg 
Souijiaua ©eftieteg, raeldieg bie 33er. ©taaten 1803 burc^ J?auf oon '^xanixdd) errcorben ; l^at 
ein 2lreat oon 52,198 Duabratmeilen ober 33,406,720 2ltfer. i^ein ©taat ber Union ift fo reid^ an 
fd^iff&aren 'g-Iiiffen, alg 2{r!anfa§. g^aft bie gan3e Dftgrenje beg ©taateg roirb burd^ ben aJJiffif* 
fippi ge&ilbet, in bem fid^ jammtlidEie ©erociffer beg ©taateg fammetn. Ser §auptfttom ift jebod^ 
ber Slrfanfag, ber mitten burc| ben ©taat in einer ©tromlange Don 500 9Jleilen fUe^t unb auf ber 
gonjen ©trede von ®ampf6ooten befal^ren loerben !ann. SDer ©t. j^i^ctttcig, ber auf 300 WsHen, 
unb ber 2St)ite attoer, ber auf 500 Tteilen Sampfbooten juganglid^ ift, Beroaffern ben S^torboften. 
Sm ©uben flie^t ber aSaf^ita, ber mit feinen jafilreid^en SfJedenfliiffen eine fct)iff5are ©tromlange 
Don nat^e 1100«2JJeiIen barbietet. '^m ©iibioeften ftromt ber 3teb Stioer, mit bem fic^ in Souifiana 
bie im fiiblid^en 2(rfanfag entfpringenben %lu\\e oereinigen. 

Ser ©taat Strfanfag 5aE)It je|t etmag iiber 500,000 ©inrool^ner, unter roeld^en fd^on eine 
Betrarf)tlid}e 2tn5a[)I ©eutfdje finb. 

©ie erften beutfd^en SInfiebter in 2Ir!anfag !amen p Slnfang ber brei^iger ^al^re unb 
lie^en fid) in ber Wdl^e Don Sittle 3iotf nieber. ®eutfd£)eg £e5en finbet man nur in roentgen Drten, 
mit Slugna^me Sittte Stodt'g, wo bie Seutfdfien eine^eroorragenbe dtoUe fpieten. ^n Sittfe StodE 
roaren fd)on mel^rere Seutfdje 9}Zai)or unb flatten bie ©eutfd^en aud^ fd^on metjrere raiditige 
2lemter in ^anben, eg erfd)eint eine beutfdie Qeitung aEbort, unb fogar ber ^od^m. SBifd^of 
^ilgeralb (ein ^rtanber) fprid)t fel^r geliiufig beutfd). 2tud) l^ier traf iii) Derfd)iebene alte ©in^ 
cinnatier, unter 2lnbern ©tjarleg Ru% metd^er jroeiuubsraanjig ^af)ve in Cincinnati gercoljut, fo= 
rate ^^err ®. 21. Sinjett. 

S)ie ptjer gelegenen Sanbftrid^e in 2tr!anfag finb fefjr gefunb, roa^renb bie Sieftanbe, o6* 
rool^lfei^r frnd)tbar, bennodf) ungefunb finb. 

^aiS) bem SBeridjt beg 2lgricultur Separtementg in SBaf^ingtcn erjeugte 2lr!anfag im Sal^rc 
1870 25,000,000 a3uft}er J^orn, 1,251,000 W]l). SBei^en, 671,000 Sff). §afer, 890,000 33]^. ©erfte, 
400,000 a5f§. Itartoffeln, 2,800,000 ^fb. Sutter, 250,000 ^fb. SBoae, 850,000 Salten 93aumtDoae 
u. f. m. Ser 2Bert^ ber aSaumraotle 6e(tef fi^ nal^eju auf $30,000,000 unb ber beg ^nbianer 
^orng auf $20,000,000. 

Sm 2nfgemeinen ift ber ©taat fe[)r frud)t6ar, aber jeid^net fid) bafiei burd) bie fdiroffen ©e; 
genfa^e in ben Derfd}iebenen X^eiten aug. SlBal^renb in ber £ette ber SJiafferne §ugel ber grauc 
©anbftein meift- DoEtommen nadt ju S^age liegt, raerben in ben %in^^%i)ak^n, bie con bem rei(^i 
ften 2)[auDiaIt)oben bebedt finb, 50—60 Suff)el ^orn Dom 2Xder geerntet. 

3)ie- Sonftitution beg ©taateg 2tr!anfag mac^t eg gur ^lidE)t ber Segiglatur, greifd^ulen ju 
errid^ten unbgu erfjalten, bennod; fieljt eg je^t etiDag traurig aug. Sie ©arpetBagger JaBen bie 
©taatgfaffe fo jiemtid^ auggeleert unb bag a3oI! f o auggefogen, bafi einftmeilen nid^t Diel gefd^el^en 
lann; aBer ein ©uteg IjaBen biefe a31utigel Bejroedt, namlid^ fie l^aBen bem Siirger einen fold^en 
9tefpe!t cor ber repuBIitanifc^en ^artei BeigeBrad^t, ba^ rooljl fiir bag nad)fte aSiertel ^af^r^unbert 
an leinerepuBlifanifdje Stegierung ju benlen ift. 

St*t 9IIlgemeinen finb bie 58iirger aaf)ier gur „Snf[ation" geneigt, b. 1^. fiir 2tBfd^affung ber 
^JiationalBanten. 

Tlan BeoBad^tet ben aCaE)Ifampf Don Dl^lo mit gro^em ^ntereffe attper, unb erraartet Bet 
einem Bebeutenben ©iege ber Semolraten Bef[ere3eiten. 

3Son Sittle Stod'tDerben ein Si^eitber ©sfurfioniften nad^ {^ort ©mitl^ unb ber anbere nad^ 
SKempl^ig reifen. ' %'S)iUr). 



OPINION OP THE GERMAN PRESS. 



mmtlm. ^tipptn^aptt 



Sie^^eituel^mer an einer (Sgcurfiott in ben(Staat2lrianfa§, in raeld^er gegen ad^tjig 3^^*""* 
gen, namentlid^ aug bem Jflorbroeften certreten roaren, finb faft ol^ne Stusna^me mit ber Ueberjeu= 
gimg 3ux'U(Jge!e^i't, bafs bem ©taate Slrfanfag eine gro^e 3u!unft !6ex)or[tef)t. ®ie SSerf)ottniffe 
finb |e|t im ©taate geregelt unb fo&alb eine te6f)afte ©inroanberung fic^ nad; bort 95a£)n bvi^t, 
tnu^ berfetbe in i^olge feinei^ ^age unb ftiiuatifc[)en 3Serl^aUnifje einer ber filii^enbften ©taaten 
be§ ©Uben^ roerben. 

®ie ©airo u. f^uttonSifenbal^n burc^frfineibet ben ©taat 2tr!an[ag naci) %e^a§, ju unb fiilbet 
bire!t bie grojje 33er!e!)igftra^e 5n)i[d^en©t. Soui§ unb bem ©iiben nac^ ^oufton, @atDefton,2luftin, ^^ 
©an 2lntonio, :5iorebo unb nad^ SZejico. S)ie 33ai^n lauft burd^ efieneg Sanb unb frfieint fel^r folib 
gebaut ju fein, unb fieriil^rt auf il^rem 2Bege ciele fteine Drte unb j5«i^ttten. 

Ser 93oben ift Ieitf)t, bie SBatbungen befte^en in (Sidfien, (Sfrfien, ©ummi, ^idorp, ©^ca* 
more unb anbern Saubfjofjern, [jauptjdd^Iii^ aber in SEannen, raeld^e man felten fc£)Ian!er unb 
grower antvifft. 

2)er 9Jiinera(=3fteid^t§um ift bereitg profitabet unb i)erfprirf)t bem ©taate reid}e Slugbeute 
unb ®eroinn ; liefernboc^ je^t fiereitS bie 3Jiinen ^of)len unb ©r^e, namentUd) ©itber, 95Iei, @ifen> 
ft'upfer, Qlnt u. bgt. gur ©jportatton. 

2ln3i5ilb[)at 2h-fanfa§ Ueberflu^, namentUd^ an Saren, §irf(f)en, Jtel^en unb Iteinerem 2BiIb. 

2)ie ©gcurftoniften langten am 29. in Sittle Dio(J an unb rourben Don ben ^Berool^nern auf 
ba§ ^erjUdjfte empfangen unb bei h^n Surgern einquartirt, raelc^e mit ber bem ©iiblanber eigen^. 
t^iimUdjen ©aftfreifjeit i^ren SBiinfd^enju entfpredjen f ud)ten. ®ie metften ©jcurfioniften befuctiten 
3'iad)mittag§ bie ©ottonfetber, raofetbft bie 58aumiuoIte eben gepfliidt raurbe. 2)er ^reig ift ca. 
12J ©t^. per ^funb unb fiir bag ^fliid'en toirb ein ©ent per 5pfunb bejafjlt. Ser 2tr!anfag "^lu^ 
befanb fid) im jc^iffbaven 3iift«'^'52- §err j?upfer(e, ber eine 2tnjaf)t beutfcfeer ^^eilneljmer an ber 
^af)rt al'j ©iifte in fein l^iibfd^eg ^jaug na^rn, fii^rte biefelben auf leic^tem 'gufirroeii nad^ bem 
f^-e(ien 93ig "Siod, roetc^er auf bent fiiblic^en Ufer be§ ^^-luffeg f)od)ft romantifc^ liegt, raal^renb ber 
Sitt(e9^od, nai^ bem bie ©tabt ben 3tamen fii^rt, oberfjalb beffelben liegt. Sag iianb ift l^ier 
au^erorbenttid^ fruc^tbar, e§ probucirt einen SBallen 93aumTOoKe per 2lder unb fann man feinen 
befferen 33oben fiir SSaumrooKe im ganjen ©taate finben, roie auc^ ber g^armer auggejeicEineteg 
Sanb fitr J^orn, g-rudit unb ©etreibe aller Slvt in jeber 5iid)tung trifft. §err J?upfer(e rcu^te 
Suoovfommenb fiir feine ©cifte ju forgen unb if;nen bie ©efjenginilrbigfeiten ber ]^iibfc^en©tabt, bie 
iiber jroolf SEaufenb ©inroofiner 3a£)lt, beren ©tra^en ba§ befte 9itcolfonpflafter, ju jsigen. — 3^ 
®^ren ber Souriften fanb Slbenbg ein gro^eg Sant'et ftatt, bei bem e§ roeber an alien bentbaren 
®elit'atefjen, nod; an ben gebrauc^tidjen ^Reben fet)lte. — S)ag beutfd)e Seben in iditth 3tod ift ein 
red^t gemiitf)[id^e§, ba§ ?Pub(i!um ein fefir intetUgenteg unb ber politifdE)e ©influ^ unferer Sanbg* 
leute ein bebeutenber. — ®ie 3uftanbe finb je^t geregelt unb alleg foUbe unb gefid^ert. 

2lm 30. ©eptember fe^ie fic^ beg SJJorgeng um 3 lXf;r ber 3ug tcieber in SSeroegung unb ges 
langte balb nad) Scatoern, ber ©tation, oon ber man §ot ©pringg nad^ einer %at)xt von iiber 
ac^tjefin 3JJei(en per i?utfd)e erreic^t. ©egemocirtig aber ift eine engfpurige 33al)n wad) §ot 
©pringg im S8au, Don ber bereitg fiinf 9)teilen befa^ren i»erben unb gegen ©nbe biefeS SUJonatg 
jiDotf fa£)rbar fein foUen. ®er 2Beg ift fdjredlid^ fiolprig, raeg^alb eg fiir ^ot ©pringg ein grower 
33ortf)eil roare, roenn bie SBa^nrafd) ooKenbet raitrbe. 

^n ^^ot ©pringg raurbe bie ©efetlfdiaft ebenfallg l^erjlid) empfangen unb in bengeraumigen 
unb bequemen §oteIg untergebradf)t, too i[;nen bie 93abeanfta[ten jur SSerfiigung gefteUt, bie nad^ 
einer langen unb befd)rDertid)en Sanbreife in (Joige beg empfinb[id)en ©taubes gerne benufet 



8 THE NEW ARKANSAS THAVELERS. 

TOUcben. — S)ie ^pre^menfc^en l^atten l^ier iibrtgenS ©elegertl^eit, ftd^ entroeber al§ S;ebJ)a6er beg 
„©port§" 3U fietunben, obec alSSeric^terftatter eine§ Sdren!ampfe§ gu fungiren. ©§ roar ncimUdE) 
jroifd^en bem S^exvn eineS fc^roarjen Saren xmb bent Signer oon groei gro^en SuItenBei^ern urn bie 
©umme Don $100 in eiiiem f)ubfcf)en offentUd^en ©arten au|erf)at6 ber ©tabt ein J^atnpf arran= 
girt, bem oiele ®ECurfioni[ten beiroo^nten. 2)er S8ar roar an einer langen, urn einen Sauntftamm 
gefc^hmgenen Jlette 6efe[tigt unb bie §unbe rourben, roci^renb bie^uf^auer einen ^reig fitlbeten, 
auf il^n loggelaffen. S)ie SJieute patfte fofort an, ber Sar a6er roaljte fief) unb fd^Iug bie J^unbe 
jurud; ber ^ampf roal^rte ntit roecfifelnbein ©rfolge unter gro^em ^allof) fa[t eine {)albe ©tunbe, 
alg Sent'ini' ben SSorfc^tag ntacEite, ben 33dr »on ber IJette logjulaffen, roelcf)eg aBfeatb gefcf)a^. 
S)as ^u&(i!um fUic^tete auf bie ©infriebigung ober fud^te fonftroie ©rf)u|, unb ^junbe unb 33ar 
jagteu fic^ redEit luftig im ©arten gum ©aubiuna ber 3ufcf)auer uml^er. 2ll§ bie Seftien eine Heine 
Sfiebenafitf^eitung be§ ©arteng l&etraten, folgten bie 3>'fi^aueJ^ burd^ ben fd^maten ©ingang, roa§= 
tenb aSctr unb §unbe plo^Udt; roieber in ben ^auptgarten fprangen, ntanc^en j^'eberl^elb auf ben 
3tafen fd^Ieubernb. S)er J?ampf ii6rigen§ 6Ue6 unentfrf)ieben.— 2l&enbg grower SaU im Arlington 
§oteI mit obUgaten 3ieben. 

§ot ©pringg mit elnigen 5Eaufenb permonentert ©inrool^nern, l^at pufig 2,500 Sabegafte/ 
roeld^e leic^t Unterlommen finben, ba bie ©tabt gro^tentJ^eilS aug §otelg 16eftet)t. ®g liegt ber 
Sdngenadt) romontifd^ jroifc^en jroei §ugetn, l^at rounberbare l^eilfrdftige Duelten, ron benen einige 
€tnen SBdrmegrab von 160 g. erreirfien unb me^r alS 500,000 ©adonenSBafjer per S^ag augroerfen, 
i^inreic^enb fur 10,000 33abegdfte. S)ie 6eruf)mten ^eillrafte ber SBaffer follen firf) namentlid^ 
fiei d^ronifrf)en i^eiben l&erocil^ren, unb in ^^-dEen t)on 3?[}eumatigmug, ©cropl^efn, §autau§fd^lagen» 
Sie6erfran!f)eiten, 2(ft[)ma, Stjgpepfia ic, foroie geroiffen anberen J^ranfl^eiten, rounberfiare ^eitung 
fceroirft l^aben unb bie §eit!rdfte ber meiften europdifd;en23dber iibertreffen, jumat bie fltmatifc£)en 
SSerpItniffe rool^tt^uenb auf ben ^atienten roir!en. ®ie DueEen follen fd^on 1539 S)e ©oto 
betannt geroefen fein unb roerben oon otelen atten Stutoren errodl^nt. 

®ag SBaffer ber Duelten ift t)ei§ genug urn ®ier in furjer Qdt 3U fod^en. — Qmzx ber ®igen= 
t^iimer ber Duellen unb beg Sanbeg in biefer ©egenb gerietf)en iiber ben S3efit^ einer Duefie in 
©treit unb fatten natiirlid^ ni(^tg©iligereg jut^un, algfid) einanber um ©ntfd^eibung unb jroac an 
bie ©eridt)te gu roenben. SSor biefem Siribunal fieroieg nun Qeber bem 2(nbern, ba§ er gar !einen 
gefe|(idjen SSefi^titel l^aBe unb fo fal^ bag ©eri^t fic^ fdtiUe^Iid; gejroungen, Seiben bag (gigen- 
tijumgyed^t abjufpred^en. SarnadE) roitrbe alfo bie 3tegierung bie fofttmren Sanbereien eignen; 
ber ^roje^ l^at je^t al(e ^uftanjen burd^gemad^t unb i^arrt ber le^ten ©ntfdjeibung feiteng ber 
©upreme ©ourt in 2BafI)ington, oon ber eg 6e!anntlid^ leine SlppeKation mef)r giebt. 2)a biefe 
offeuBar bie frii^eren Urtl^eite beftdtigen roirb, fo fiet^t man batbigft.ber 3eit eutgegcn, in ber bie 
ttotl)igen Stntagen fiir gro^e i^ofpitdler unb elegante ©ebdube gemadjt roerben. 33ig je^t liegen 
bie Duellen in if^rem Urjuftanbe auf ben §ot ©pringg ni3rblid^ ber ©tabt ; bie ganje Jjtigelfette 
^eigt einen culfaniidfien llrfprung unb (S^arafter unb bie D/uellen ftefien offenfiar init culfanifdlien 
Jlroften im ^unern ber ©rbe in SSerBinbung. 

S)ie Seutfd^en in Sjot ©pringg bemiil^tenfid^ nad) i^rdften, bie®EcurfiDniften ju unterl)alten 
unb il^nen bie Sid^tfeiten i^rer oon ber 3'latur fo reid; gefegneten ©tabt oor 2lugen gu fuf)ren. ©ie 
-fd)einen bafelbft ber irbtfdjen ©liter nidE)t ju entbetjren unb roerben if)ren 2Bol)lftanb noc^ bebeus 
lenb oergro^ern, fobatb bie ©upreme ©ourt erft einmat ben ^roje^ entfd^ieben i^at, bie ®ifen= 
ba^n oolleubet fein unb fic^ eine genitgenbe SHusa^l oon jjarmern unb ©drtnern niebergelaffen 
liaben roirb, benn big je^t roirb uoc^ jeber ^rauttopf oon ©t. Souig bafjin transportirt. 

2lm-^reitag Sliorgen tratenbie ©jcurfioniften rool)tgemut^ bie ^jeimreife an, unb einer ber 
2^^eitnel)mer fagt l)tei'burd) fiir enoiefene Slufmevtiamteit l^erjlic^en Sauf. 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 

n^eUet>me Settling/^ ^eUeHUe, ^U. 



S.SCroU. 



2lnt 9l6enb beg 28. ©eptemfier fuf^r eiu 3^3 "on bem ^ron aJJountain Sal^nl^ofe in St. 
Souig ah, raelcf)er au^er ber Socomotice imb H)xem S-utterung§roagen, au§ etnem ©epiidraagen, 
einent geraol^nlic^en ©tyen6ar)nroagen unb aug 4 bee au^erorbentlid^ l&equem eingerirfitetett 
©djlafroagen, tf^eilg con ^ultmann, tl^eilg Don 3lJagner, 5e[tanb. ®iefe SBagen entl^ielten etroa 90 
SSertreter bee ^refje, namentUcf) au§ ben 3)2ittel= unb norbtidjen ©taaten ber Union. S)ev ^tnetf 
ber 3ieife mar J?enntni|nal)me oom ©taate 2lr!anfag, um burd^ biefel!6e bie ©Ditoren t)erfd)ie< 
bener ^^^^ii^O^n 3" 6efat)igen, fo[d)en i^rer Mer, roelrfie bie SBanberluft Befallt ober fotd^en, bie 
etroa aug ©efunbl^eitgriicfftcf)ten ein raarmereS Mima fuc^en, ober benen, bie il^r iibrtgeg ©etb in 
Sanbereien ansulegen beabfid^tigen, ober fold^en, roelcf)e ergie5igere§ Sanb fud)en, atg eivoa ba§ 
fein mag, raeld^eg fie bigfjer l&ebauten 2c. aug eigener Slnjd^auung bie Ser^iiltniffe oon Strlanfag 
fc^ilbern 3U !onnen; ba eigne Slnfdjauung unbeftrittener 2)Za^en griinblid^er belet^rt, aB i?arten 
unb fd)rifttic§e 2lnpreifungen. 

^d^ fudE)e nun ben, won ben Betreffenben 33iirgern oon 2lrfanfag gel^egten (Srroartungen 
um fo (ieber gered^t ju tcerben, al3 id^ ooraugfe^e, ba^ bie l^ier fotgenben, loal^renb meiner 9tei[e 
entroorfenen JJotijen einem ober bem anDeren Sefer ber SBelleoilter geitnng uon SJu^en fei,n !i3nn= 
nen: bem ®inen, icenn fie ifjn gum ©e^en beftimmen, unb bem 2tnbern, roenn fie ii)n gum 33(eiben 
Kcranlaffen. Um bag Sing nid)t gar ju fioljern, ober ju rcafferig erfd^einen ju laffen, befd)reibe 
id) nid)t 6(og SSalber, %iu\\e unb ©ihnpfe, fonbern laffe ba unb bort etroa^ ii)irf[id;e§ ^eben 
bajroifdien fdjauen— Seute, roie fie effen'unb trinfen, lanjen unb ftngen, arbeiten, fpefuUren tc. 

Sag ttebtid^fte ^erbftroetter begleitete ung auf ber ganjen 5ieife. Ser .^immel, in ber 
SfJad^t ber Slbfal^rt, roar oon rounberooEer IJtarljeit ; bie ©terne jroinlferten if)r filberneg unb 
golbeneg Sic^t mit fo ungeroo^ntidjer ^ette auf bie Bom Qnqe burdibraufte ©egenb fierab, a[g 
raoUtenfieegben ^ieifenben ermoglid^en, and) ofinebag iUdjt ber J?onigin beg 3::ageg ifjren ©eift 
mit ttaven ©inbriid^en ber naditUd^ coriibereilenben i^anbftred'e ju bcreid^ern. Slber il^r freunbtis 
d§eg ©treben btieb ol^ne nennengroerfljen ®rfoIg; man fonnte n)ol^lfe[;en, ob bie ^anbfi^aft eben, 
ober l^iigelig unb gebirgig, ob man burdf) SKatt) fufir ober unbef)o[3teg ^anb ; aber bag roar auc^ 
Stlleg; bie Umriffe etnjelner ©egenftcinbe cerfdiroammen in einanber, unb in ber §offnung, ba^ 
man auf ber Stiicffai^rt bag je^t S]er(orne roerbe erfe^;n tonne, folgte man allgemein bem (^'i'tset^- 
geig beg bieufttfiuenben ©diroarjen, ber, roie man ju fagen pflcgt, im ^anbumrefjen iiber je jroei 
©i^en jroei ber roeidjften, mit bamaftenen SSorpngen bidf)t befd)irmten 33etten J^erftetltej unb — 
Icgte fic^ fdE)[afen. ^d) tiabe feit langer gett tatim beffer gefdjiafen, alg in jener 3tadjt; aber ber 
am 21[6enb gefajste SSorfa:^, fo oiet alg mogltd) con bem Sanbe gu fef)en, burd; roelc^eg ber Quq 
fiifjrte, lie^ mid^ fdE)on mit bem erften SRorgengraueu erroadjen nnb aufftel^en. ®iner ber ©rften 
jeben SIZovgen ftanb id) auf ber ^platform unb blidte in ben finftern SBalb [)inein. 2)er 9Jiorgen 
roar !alt, unb ic^ jog mid) balb ing ^iinere juriid^ unb poftirte midf) an ein ^Jenfter, nac^bem id^ 
mi^ in meinen uorfidjtgEialber mitgefd^leppten ffiinteriiberrotf geftedt ijotte. 

Um 5 UEir SJlotgeng erreid^ten roir poplar SBIuff, Mo., etroa 20 2}ieilen nbrblid^ oon ber Sir* 
tanfag ©renje unb 72 3}Jeii.en fiibroeftlid) oon ©airo. §ier miinbet bie ©airo unb 2lr!anfag unb 
S^e^ag 3i. dl. in bie ©t. Souig '^von DZountain unb ©out^ern 3i 3i. 5)er Dvt ift nod; fe^r tlein, 
ganj oon SBalb umgeben una liegt am 33tac!riDer, roenn id) nid)t unridjtig belel^rt rourbe. Ser 
^oljbeftanb ift burd)fd)nittIicE) iippig ju nennen; ber S3oben fc^eint ein grauroei^er iJefim ju fein. 

2)f a r i ift bee er fte Stnfang eineg ©tdbtdjeng bem roir in Strtanfag begegneten. ©g bes 
ftetjt oorlaufig nur aug roenigen 33retter unb StodTjaufetn unb bitbet gleid;fam bie Sfiad^e an ber 
©renjtinie ber beiben ©taaten, ober bie ©renjmarte. s3er SBalb jroifdien ^^uiptar 93luff unb 
3)Joart ift felpr eben, fteKenroeife fumpfig. — iEtwa 10 Tlzxlen oon 33loart l^ielt ber gug an, um S^ol^ 
fiir bie 3.1iofolotioe, roie unfer colored inau fagte, einjunefjmen. (2)ieg roar jebod; nidjt bie ein= 



10 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELEES. 

gtge 2t6anberung, bte er ftc^ mtt bem 3^amen unferer 3ugi^«Wine oor.junel^men exlauUs: ^e na^t 
bem i[;m bicfe cber jene ©ilfien juerft auf bie Su^fle !amen, nannte er fie cerfdiieben, at§: 3KoIOi 
Jottoe, i^omoIotiDe, unb id) gtaiibe, im Saufe ber 3ett fivingt er alte 24 moglidjen 33erfer,ungen 
|eraug bag e al5 ftumm angenommen.) 

^d^ BemerlEteeintge ^Pflanjen in pracljtigem Sliitl^enflor, unb ba fie mir fremb Dorfamen, 
ftieg ic^ au§, fie 311 pfliici'en, iim bei ber ^eimfunft §r. i?(ein§ ^sflanjenfammlung, (bie ©etefirten 
meineg ^erBariunt, raaEirfdjeinlid^ mn biefe SCrt ©ammlung Don einem §eu= ober SBeijerifdiober 
2C. p unterfd^eiben, roeldfieg bod^ roo^l aurf) ^ftanjenfammtungen finb) — alfo um bag fiierbarium 
eineg Sei^rerg bamit ju Bereic^ern. ©g tuinften mir nod; aubere, aKetn eg tag ein fel^r ftar!er Sf)au 
auf bem faft manngl^ol^en ©rafe, unb bieg unb ein Slid auf meine ©d)u]^e [jielten midj al\ bem 
erften SmputS — ineiter ju ge^en — ju folgen. „(Sin S3 Ud auf meine <Bd)ui)&" Bebarf ber ©rfla^ 
rung. (Sg mar ncimlid) in jcner ?fad)t etroag gefc^el^en, mag feit oieten ^al^ren nidjt paffivt ift: 
3Jiein e ©d;uE) e ftanb en am St or g en fo Blan ! gem id] ft unt er bem S3e tt e, alg 
mciren fie baju Beftimmt, alg 3iafirfpiegel ju bienen, unb ba mare eg bod^ fdfiabe geroefen, eineg Un* 
Irauteg raegen, bie freunblid^e 2lrBeit unfereg Darkey's ju jerftoren. 3Serfc§iebene 2lg!(epiag unb 
bie ©olbru^e k. bie l^ier corfommen, raaren aud^ bort in fef)r iippiger Sliitl^e. 

2ng ber 3"g mieber im ©ange roar, rourben ung (Sigarren unb ein 2Rorgentrunf angeBo? 
ten: feurigen 3^otf;roein unb ad;ten (Eognac ; man fonnte roa^Ien, ober aud^ con Beiben genie^en. 
eg mar bieg bie roo^It[)uenbe f3-t^"cf)t eineg erleud^teten ©ebanfeng, ber — barauf roiEid) fdjrooren — 
ntdjt bem ©el^irn einer SBafferratte entfprang, unb in ftillem SSergniigen, ober cergniigter ©tiCe 
fc^Iugen bem freunbtid^en ©penber bie ^erjen noc^ rocirmer in ber SJtorgenfi't^te, oBg[ei(^ roir ifjn 
nid)t fannten (roafirfc^einlic^ @en. Soug[)Boroug^ mit ®en. 5DZilIg bie SSeranftatter ber 6"Ecurfion.) 
3tad)bem mir nod^ mef;rere 3Balb[idjtungen paiftrt, auf benenjeein 58Iodl^aug ftanb — (oft aud^ 
melrere), erreic^ten mir SSaEnutribge, ein Dertc^en aug 13 ^aufern Beftel^enb. (£g mar 8^} ur^r- 
unb mit atlgemeinen Sergnitgen folgte man bem Stufe: „3um j^riifjftud !" 2Rit DoKer 33efries 
bigung nerlie^ jeber ben Xi^di) ; man f)atte ung in biefem !(einen, aBgetegenen Dertd^en ein %vui)' 
ftiici aitfgetragen, roie eg in bem Beften ©aftf)ofe in einer ©ro^ftabt (Sl^re gemad;t ^aBen roiirbe. 
SCir mu^ten f)ter bag Sjorbeipaffiren eineg norbtid; ge§enben B^S^g aBroarten, unb lie^en ung 
bie 3eit unterbeffen uertreiBen oon einem oor etroa 1 ^a^re in ber ©egenb jung eingefangen — 
je^t ja§men — fdjroarjen Sciren burc^ allerlei toUeg QeuQ, bag roir ung mit ii^tn erfauBten unb er 
fid^ mit ung; roenn il^m unfere ^ifia^e gu bid !amen, fe^te er fid^ Blog in eine bro^enbe ©tetlung 
unb bie ungeBetenen ©torer ber 33arenru£)e ftoBen nac^ aden SStnbriditungen auseinanber. Tlart 
l§at it}m eine eigene Bequeme §o[)le mit engem ®ingange in bie ©rbe gegraBen, raoEiin er fid^ in 
2lugenBtiden ciu^erfter ©efafjr suriidjiefjt. 

Sie 58arenunterr}attung fagte nur einer !Ieinen3«^l langere ^eit ju. S)a id) meine aftro* 
nomifdf)e ll^r mitgenommen Igatte, unb mandje ber ^erren @bitoren ein S^tereffe bafiir jeigten 
unb il^re ©inrid^tung fennen lernen, foroie con ber 9lrt unb SSeife ifireg ©eBraud^eg a(g 3K"ftt^i* 
tiongmitteC fid) iiBergeugen rooUten, [)atten mid^ einige §erren erfuc^t, biefe SBartegeit ju einer ©r^ 
llarung ber genc^nnten Singe 3u Benu^en, roorauf id) felBftoerftanblic^ mit SSergniigen einging. 
2lBer eg lam nid)t baju; benn faum r)atte i6) ben Slpparat in ber §anb, um if)n auf bie ^(attform 
beg Sepot'g ju Bringen, alg eg jum ©infteigen Iciutete, ba ber erroartete 3"g l^eranBraufte. ^nx 
SSertaufe ber ^^-a^vt gaB id) biefe ©rflarungen mef)reren !Ieinen ©ruppen, ba ber 3taum eg nidjt 
anberg geftattete. 

' 33ig 2BalInut=3iibge fufiren roir feit 3)corgeng 5 lU)r ftetg bur^ SBalb unb, fo roeit maitfefien 
!ann, fd)eint'eg burd^aug nid)t, ba^ bieg fid) cinbert. Ser 33oben ift burd)roeg eBen, unb ber DBer= 
grunb Beftef)taugSe[)m,beffen'garBe roec^feltoonroei^oU grau unb gelB. i?orn, bag anr)erfd)iebenen 
©telten ber ^Bal^n enttang gepflan^t roar, fd)eint tl^eilg Don guter D-ualitat, tf)eitg nid)t Don 
Befonberer UeppigMt. — -Man merite, ba^ roir bem ©iiben jufufjren. S)ie ©onne Brannte fd)on 
um 10 Uljx a^ormitagg briideub ^ei^ jum SBagenfenfter fjerein unb madEite eg ratl^Ud), ba§ man fid^ 
gegenif)ref)ei^e3ubringlid)!eit burd) 3"5iet)en bid^ter Sor^iinge fd)u^te, nur eine ©udfpalte offen 
laffenb. ®a e&en fa^ren roir feit bem frii^eften ^iageggrauen burd) ben erften ©rbeinfd)nitt. — 
etroa 5—6 'g-uji tief unb 70—80 tang, in ber 3Jad^Barfd)aft einer Sampf;©agemii[)te, in beren ^laije 
fid^ eine — met)rere 3ld"er umfaffenbe 33aumroo(tenpfIan3ung Befinbet; and) unroeit poplar 33Iuff 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. H 

am SlacE^SItoer \al) id) eine fotc^e. SiefeS ©ttibdjen liegt jumSfjeit auf niebrigen ^iigeln (33Iuf[g), 
bafjer rcafirfdjetnUd) fetn 3iame, in 55erE)tnbung mit bem Umftanbe, ba§ 5]3appetu C^poptar) auf ben* 
feI5en road)[en.— 3tacf)bemn)ir nod; mel)xexe grojiere SSaumrDoHenpflanjungen, ringg von 2Balb urns 
ge6en, pa[ftrt fjatten, erreidjten raiv um ILf S^ceroport am SBfjiterioer. Ser Drt Befte§t au3 etroa 
30 — C5 tl^eifg Ketneren, tfjeil^j mittelgro^en, auS ^otj ge&auten §aii[ern, )&etnafje aCe on einer 
©ttajje. 3lm 33af)nf)of raaren -etroa 50 23aEen SaumrooHe auf3eftape[t, ber SJerfdjicfung f^arrenb. 
©troa 1 9}ceite nbrbUd; liegt Sadfonport, am fe(6en i^tuffe. Sag JBaffer beS SS^ite 3itoer erfdjeint 
flier griinlic:^, roetc^er Umftanb al[o jebenfairg nidjt ^at[)e hei ber Saufe roar. Unroett 9ieroport 
(etroa 1 Tlcile) fiU;rt eine gute, gerabUuige Sriide— mit pljernen ©trebebattenim ei[ernen Ranges 
wer!— ii&er ben 'glu^, ber i^ier in majeftatifd) rutjiger ©rofje unter itjr Ijinjietit. ©ie lifer fini> 
nidjt fctjr Ijod). Sie S3aumrooIIenfelber mefjren jidj; ifjrem SluSfe^en unb bem iippigen ^otji 
iDudjfe nad; ju urtf;eilen, ift bag Sanb [jier gut. Jfieiter fjin, auf einer 16aum(o[:n 33obener[jof)ung 
liegt a3aIbmounb (ober oilteid^t mit t anftatt b am ®nbe) nur rcenige ^jaufer jd^tenb. ©iroa50 
aKeilen novboftlid; von Sittte 3iod liegt ^nfonia am Sittle 3iebrioer, ein ©tabtd}en oon etroa 400 
©inroofinern. (Eg befinbet fid; bafeldft eine Unioerfitat, eine 2}tat)I=unb ©dgemii^te, ilirdjen genuj 
unb cerfdjiebene aSerfftcitten 2C. ©einer Cage nad) mag eg eine bebeuteube 3"^'""ft l^aBen. ®irt 
junger 3Jlann Ibeftieg ba unferen 3"3 u«i' oert^eilte Itteine ^amp^kte, bie Uniuerfitat Betreffenb 
— 3e meljr roir un^ Sitt(e SiocE niitjerten, befto jatjtreidier unb anfel^nlidjer roerben bie (Smbrgo 
mnftiger SSiEageg, %omx§ unb ©itieg. Sa ber S;ag, miefd^on erroafjnt, fe|r ^ei^ roar, fo aner- 
!annten roir 2iae lobenb ben guten, menfd)enfreunblid)en ©infalt eineg £it:te3ioder SBeinpnbterg^ 
ber ung ^errlid^e unb gugleic^ reidjUdie ^rofien feineg Sagerg entgegen gefenbet l^atte. ^n unferer 
©efeEfdjaft bemerf'te ic^ feine Siquer=geinbe; eg mii^te benn fein, bag ^emperengler, roo man fie 
nicjt alg foldjefennt, itjren 2ll)fd)eu oor geiftigen ©etranfen oerlieren, unb bie bbfe SBelt fief^auptet 
roir!Ii(^, biefe (Srfafjrung fd;on uielfa(tig gemadjt 5U I;a6en. 

(gin SSiertet nad) brei U^r langten roir in :5iittte Jtod an, roo roir con einer Fcufi!Banbe unb 
einer 2)Zenge ber fjeryorragenbften 33iirger am 33a§nl^ofe empfangen rourben. S)ie Surgerfd;aft 
l^atte fid) bie ©fjre auggebeten, ung gafttid; su 13eroirt[)en, unb mandjer berfel6en jog mi^nergniigt 
a6, alg Jciemanb fiir if^n iibrig 16lie6, unb fomit bie liebe (gijeCjalfte ft':^ umfonft bemiif^te, ein 
feftlidjeg "Maljl fiir bie erroarteten ©cifte ju bereiten. 

3d; roar in ©efellf djaf t con 4 anbern jQerren von einem f reunbUdjen 2lmerif aner requirirt, alS 
§err ^infet, atg ©teEoertreter con §rn. ilraemer, (S'^-'Maijov ber ©tabt, roeld^er roenigfteng ein 
[}a[5eg Suljenb ^ah^n roottte, unb nod; feinen ©in3igenr;atte, non jenen ^jerren fic^ einige ber ©cifte 
augbat. 3'^ ii^ar jebod^ ber ©injige, ber ir;n ju uerlaffen ficl^ entfdjlo^, unb Ijoffe ba^ er eg nic^t 
atg Un[;oflid;t"eit betrad;tet l^aben roirb. ^d; rourbe per 33ugg9 gu §errn J^raemerg 93el;aufun3 
gefafiren, bie tiiibfd; gelegen, geraumig, fer;r bequem eingerid)tet unb reid; auggefiattet ift. 3^ad} 
fel^r freunbtid)em (Empfang rourbe id^ gum aSabejimmer, bejietiunggroeife'' 2Bafd;= unb Soiietten^ 
lobinet geleitet, roo ic^ abermalg fanb, roie rool;ttptig unb erfrifd;enb nacf) ISftunbiger (gifenB.a[;ni 
fal^rt eine ge[;orige SGafd;ung roirlt. 

3'Jun gingg an bie reidibefe^te Xafet unb eg ift nur ju bebauern, bag ^errn J?raemerS Sijer* 
langen nod; roenigfteng einem l^albenSnt^enb ©aften nid;t entfprod;en rourbe, bamit bie auggejeid;* 
netei1od)in augenfd;einUc^erroa^rgenommert [;dtte,tuiegut xt;re©erid;tefd;medten. S'lebenbei Ijdlt 
§err*[:raemereinenaugge3eid;neten SSeiii, in ber 3ldt;ex)on Sittte diod gejogen, foroie angener;mbuf; 
tenben ©igarren. Sei Xi\d) leiftete mir §r. J?raemer. fein ©d;roager, §r. 9ieid;ert, ^r. ^infef, 
©d^roiegerfo[;n »on S^vn. ©ifenmaier in ©ummerfielb, ©t. ©(air ©o., fo roie S^v. itof;(enberger, 
3uderbdder, ©efeltfd;aft. '^ad) %i'](!)e fofgte id; ber freunbtid;en ©intabung meineg ©aftroirt^eg, 
eine ©pajierfal^rt ju mac^en, um bie ©tabt unb i^re Umgebung ndtjer in 2lugenfc^ein ju nef;men. 
2tuf einem anbern SBuggp Begleiteten ung §r. 5ptnfel unb §r. ilof;(enberger, — §r. 3fleid;ert roar bur cl^ 
©efd;dfte baran x)er(;inbert. S)ie ©tabt liegt auf bem red;ten, i)oi)en Ufer beg 2lrfanfag fVluffeg, 
auf einer reid;en ©bene, mit einem [;errUd)cn ^intergrunb con beroatbetcn fletnen Stnfjbijeu, t;inter 
roeld;en auf eine roeite ©trecfe fid) fe[;r ergiebige 'garmen befinben. S)ie ©tabt jdf;It etn^a 3500 
©inroofiner, bie ©tra^en finb tf)eilroeife mit prdd;tigen ©d^attenbdumen bepflanjt unb bie ©efd;dfte 
foEen v.n 2tttgemeinen fer;r befriebigenb ge[;en. S)ie ©tabt bietet im ©anjen ein roor;[r;obenbeg 
2lugfei§en, unb ju il^rer aSergrb^erung finb nod; ciele 2::aufenbeDon prdd)ttgen Saupld^en Dorr;an= 

V 



12 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

ben. 2lm oftlid^en ®nbe bcr ©tabt ttegt ba§ U. ©. 3trfenal, ba§ etnige ©ompagmen ©olbatenBe* 
l^erBergt unb von J)u6fd^en ©d^attenfiaumen umgeben i[t. SBonben 3errDurfntffert, bie [e|te§ ^riil^s 
jal^r l^errfd^ten, nimmt man je^t ntc|t§ mel^r roa^r. S)a|5 georbnete guftanbe fofialb inieberfel^rten 
ift gro^ent.^eiB bem energifd^en ttnb flugen Stuftreten be§ ^errn Jlraemer, bamaltgen SJiaporg, ju 
■Decbanfen. 3tad)ber SRudfel^r Don berJiunbfal^rtrourbe bent feurigen 3totf)en nocE) etroaS jugefprocEien 
bann gingS jum 3l6enbeffen, nad}l^er roar ein Sioud^nmb ^tanberftunbcEien, cerfd^onert burd§ Mat 
■j)tert)ortraget)on g-raulein Jt'raemer, unb urn 8 lll^r etroaraurbe aufgebrod^enjum 33anquet, baSbie 
©tabt ben ©bitoren ju (Sl^ren ga6- §erri!raemer raar lurj Dor biefer 3eit !tanlgeroe[en unbburftc 
eSnod^ nid^traogen, an btefer geftlid^feitti^eilauneEimen; ba ratr abet gleid^ DomSanquetpm Salens 
5of foKten, nm roeitersu reifen, jo Deval)jtf;iebete id^ mid^ Don ^rn.^raemer unb non feiner lieBenSs 
raitrbtgen 'gamiUe. §r. ^infel l&egtettete niid^ gum 33anquet, nad^bemroir auf bem aSege bal^inin 
§rn. Stutfert'g geraumigem £o!aIe, in angenel^mer (55efel([tf}aft, auggejetd^netem 33ier ge!6uf)renbe 
©lire anget^an fatten. Sluf bem 33anquet fetfift, raa§ \a ber 3tame bebeutet, raurbe gegeffen, menu 
man nod^ Suft fjatte, ©^ampagner unb anbere gute 2Beine getrunfen, .ttaffittiw^ geraudit, unb fel^r 
t)tele SJeben gel^alten, in meli^en bie reidfien ^ilfgqueKen l^ernorgefioben rourben, raeldie fic§ bemSlns 
fiebler in Sittle 'Stod unb in 2lr!anfa§ iiBer^aupt bieten. Um 1 Uf)r "iitadji^ ging bann bie %a^tt 
weiter jiibmartS, unb mol^t ^eber Don xm§ iiberlie^ jid^ roillig ben 2lrmen be§ SJJorpfieug. 

SSorerft eine 33eric^tigung ; Sittte^od' mod^te fonft Bog merben: ©ntraeber buri^ ein 3Sers 
fel^en be§ S?erfafferg ober beg ©e^er§, ift in ber Dorigen ^Rummer bie ©inraofjnerjal^t biefer ©tabt 
auf 3500 anftatt auf 35,000 angegeben. %l§ roir am 3[Rorgen erraadjten, ftanb ber^ug auf bem 
S3a[jn^ofe be§ ftetnen ©tabd^eng 3Kabern, etroa 65—70 3}teilen fiibmeftfid^ Don :Bitt(e dlod. 2Bie 
lange er oor unferm ©rroad^en fc^on ba geftanben, lonnten mir au§ ber Sctnge beg juriidgelegten 
SBegeg nurungefcil^r Dermut^en; benn bie 2{nftrengungen in ber erften §atfte ber DerfloffenenStac^t 
l^atten berairJt, ba^ ber ©djlaf ung ju feft tunfangen fonnte, alg ba^ rair un§ um bie Ui^r unb bie 
3eit ptten befiimmern !i3nnen. 3tad}bem rair ung Sltte erfjoben, ben ©df)(af aug ben 2tugen ge= 
mafc^en unb einen !teinen ©pajiergang in ber angenel^men 3J^orgenfrifdje gemadit i^atten, um un= 
fere Umgebung ju befic^tigen, raurben rair etwa§, nad^ 7 lll^r gum g-rii^ftiidf eingetaben, ha§ in ben 
^raei bafetbft befinblic^en ©aftpufern unferer erraartete. ®§ raar nid^t fo auSgejeidjnet, raie bag 
in aSalnut S^libge, aber immerFjin annel§mbar unb raiEfommen. Sion Ttalvetn ift eine fd)malfpurige 
3raeigbal[)n nac^ bem etraa 251fteilen norbraeftlid; gelegenen §ot ©pringg im 33au begriffen unb an 
eine ©trecfe Don 7 — 8 SlZeilen in befafirbarem 3uftanbe. ^n ®i[e rourbe ber fogenannte jtonftruifi 
tiongtrain mit ©i^en au§ Brettcrn Derfeben, unb um etraa 8} Up fupen rair ah um befagte 8 
DJteiten auf biefe 2Betfe juriid^utegen. ©leid) au^erplb a)Jatoern gerainnt bie ©egenb ein ^ln']ei)^n 
raie bie (Segenb jraifd^en DgfeS unb SentreDitte ©tation, an ber ©airo ©prt Sine, roo Heine %f)ah 
d^en mit beraalbeten niebrigen §iigeln abraed)fetn. 2Inge!ommen am Snbpunfte ber 33ap, geraap* 
ten rair etraa 16 ^^-upraerfe ber Derfdfiiebenften 2lrt, f. g. ©oad^eg, §adg, Dmnibuffe unb ®Epref;= 
raagen, auf bie rair nun Derpad't raurben, um nad^ bem nod; 17 3Meilen entfernten S^ot ©pringS ge= 
Jbradjt ju raerben. Siefe jyapt raar intereffant, aber nid)t befonberS angenel^m. ©ed^g big fie= 
£en SReifen ging eg ba[)in auf einem 2Beg, ber biefen Stamen ganj gerai^ nic^t oerbient, §iigel 
auf, ^iiget ai, g-elgftitcfe ol^ue 3'^^)'^' ebenfo S3aume, benen augjuroeid^en raar ; benn immer gingg 
burd^ SBalb. S)ad)te man ficb 5U fic^ern, inbemmanftd^ red^tg neigte, raurbe man augenbUcflid^ 
Tiad^ ber Iin!en ©eite gefa^rbet; immer gingg in ©alopp, unb bie ©efd}idlidjieit ber S^reiber roar 
in ber 2:pt erftaunlid) : SBennman ^emanben geraiffe ©teKen beg 3Segeg (rair raoKen bet biefem 
unpaffenben Stamen bleiben, in ©rmanglung eineg paffenben) ^eigen raiirbe, !5nnte er unmcgtid^ 
gtauben, ba^-fnan in fo fdinetler SBenbung, bei fo piperiger Unterlage, mit einem SBagen mit 4 
fPferben befpannt, in fo fdjuetlemSaufeburd^fommenfonnte ope ben SBagenju jerfd^mettern; unb 
tro^bemgefdjaf) lein UngHid. ©traa 800 ©djritteDom®infteigepta| Derlie^en rair jebod; unfere'gups 
raerfeunb gingen etraa 1 2Jtei(e raett gu %i\% ba eg ju fteit ging unb bie armen^ferbe unfer3}titleib 
erregten. yia(i) ber erraa(}nten ©trede Don 6 — 7 S^Reiten miinbete ber ^joljraeg in einen mep befal^= 
renen ein, ber aber in alkm Uebrigen Don gleic^er 33cfd)affenpit raar, unb tropem unterl^ietten 
rair ung gut burd^ ©ingen unb 5plaubern ; aber ^eber freute fid), enbtid; bag erfepte §ot ©pringg 
Dor fidj 5u fepn, in bag ber SBeg fidj langfam fjinabfenft. 33or ung auf ber anbern — ber raeftUd^en 
©eite beg ©tcibtd^eng, bag lang f)ingeftredtin einem fc^matenS^aleliegt, geraapten roir eine pp 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 13 

fiettiolbete §ugetrett)e, ober ri(f)ttger 93ergreii^e, nod^ tm frifd^eften ©riin. S)a raaren 6ei mir altte 
bie ©trapa^en ber j?"^)'^'^, bte baoon getragenen fteifen ®elen!e unb alle 2)iubig!eit oergefjen. ®ie 
©rinnerung an bie lieben, anmut^igen unb tomantifcfien ©djraarjroatb^^Berge unb 3:;pler unb fo 
mandjerbartnntitertebten '^h\)tl.e ttentitfd^ten alf bieg l&eibem 2ln6U(Sbiefeg prac^tigen ^panoramas. 

Ser ^aupttl^eil uon §ot ©pringS bng etroa 6000 ©inraol^ner jal^It, 5efteE)t aug nur ^raei 
Sftei^en ^iiufer, roeWje an ber burd; ba§ %i)ai fid) l^inrcinbenben ©tra^e enttang erBaut jinb, 
oon biefer ^auptftra^e jroeigen fid) einige fiirjere in fd)male ©eitentprd^en ah, bie eBenfo bel&aut 
fitib. ®ie ^aufer finb al(e aug ^olj aufgefitl^rt, ba SfJiemanb fic^ ju foftfpieligeren Sauten vex- 
fteigen mag, inbem lein ein3iger §au5!6efi^,er pgleid^ aud^ ®igentf)iimev be§ a3aup(a|e§, fonbern 
nur ^cid^ter begfeI5en tft, unb felBft bie§ nur eine eng l&efd)ran!te Qa'^l oon ^a^ren. Iteber ba§. 
58efi^red^t rairb namlic^ ein fdion lange l^ingejogener ^roce^ gefii^rt, jroifd^en §rn. Stector, 
®E=©ouDernor oon 2lr!anfa§ alS ©taimant einerfeitS, unb ber U. ©t. 3f{egierung anbrerfeit§, weldje 
befjauptet, ba§ Sanb, alg ju ber oon ber 9tegierung t)or&ef)altenen MneraHanbereien gel^orig, 
lonne nid^t oergeBen raerben. 3]or[auftg a6er Bejiefji §r. Siector, rcie man mir milt^eitte, ja^rlid^ 
etma 100,000 Soltar§©runbpad^t; ba roirb er racist nid)t oiet bagegen l^aBen, roenn ber ^projef;, 
fid^ etroa ein I^at5e§ ^al^rl^unbert raeiter fiinjiefit. 2lu^er Bie(en Heinen ©aft^ unb J?oftl^aufern 
finb brei gro^e oor^anben : baS ijot ©pring §ote(, ©entrat §otet unb ba§ Slrlington ^otet, ttield^ 
Ie|tere§ — erft nor etnem ^afjre er6aut— bag grb^te ift; au^er bem ©out^ern ^otef ift iaum ein 
anbereg in ©t. SouiS ba§ gerciumiger unb Bequemer eingeri^tet ift, unb Beffere SBebienung 
unb auSgejeii^neteren 2:ifd) Bietet, a(§ biefeg. S)a§ e§ an i^auftaben, Sirinftofaten, 5?ird)en u. f. 
rc. nid)t fer)lt, Derftefjt fid) Don felBft, aud) fiir ©d)uten ift geforgt. (Sine ©tred'e con 1 J WeiUrt 
fiifirt eine 5pferbe=®ifenBa§n bur^ bie ©tabt. Sag J^Iima ift f el^r mi(b ; ©d^nee im SCinter ift 
eine ©ellenl^eit, unb roenn j|e roe(d)er fdfit, ift er flugS loieber werfd^rounben. 3Ber fic^ mit Sonb* 
hau aBgiBt, !ann jebeS ^al^r jroei ©rnbten oon bemfelBen ©tiid ^elb einl^eimfen. 

Sluf bie §errn (Sbitoren juriidfommenb, l^aBe id^ nac^jutragen, ha^ auf bem 2Bege jmifd^ett 
bem ®nbpun!t ber ®ifenBal^nfa[)rt unb §ot ©pring§ mel^rere Wax\djalle ju ^ferb in Qm\\d)snxani 
men unS entgegengefanbt iDurben. Ser erfie roarer. Elector, ©ofm beg oBenerracil^nten §errn, 
ein ©entlemann im rcal^ren ©inne beg SBorteg. ' 3n Sittte 9^odE felBft murben wir im 2[rIington 
§otet t)on ben angefcl)enften unb — felBftoerftcinblic^— fd)6nften SDamen, foroie ben l^eroorragenb- 
fteifSiirgern aufg freunblid^fte Berottlifommt, raorauf rair in ben cerfd^iebenen §otetg unfereQuar* 
tiere Bejogen. '^d) BlieB im Strlington §aug. 9tad^ einer not^igen unb ermilnfditen 3Bafc^ung 
gtngg in ben fe^r gro^en ©peifefaat, urn ben anfangg fnurrenben 2)tagen — eg roar fd)on fialB oier 
IXl^r — 3U Befriebigen. ©g rourbe nad^ ber ^arte gefpeift, unb bie Slugroal^l roar eine fel^r reidfie: 
unb bie ©peifen belicat. 3ta^ bem (Sffen Befud)te id) bie l^eifsen Cluellen, bie in grower 3«^t ^^"^^ 
ber SBeftfeite ber oftIid)en ^oi)en l^erworfprubeln, in ifirer 3JJitte nur eine eingige lalte DueKe i 
roafirenb ber roeftlidie ^o^en^ug unter t)ie(en fatten nur eine einjige roorme ju Sage forbet. 

Dljm biefe Quellen roare roal^rfd^einlid^ gegenroortig nod^ !aum bie 33IodEI^Utte eineg nacfy 
©rjen ©ud)enben in biefem %l)ak, unb fo geroafirt nun ber Drt jdEirlid) 2:aufenben oon j^t^emben. 
DBbad^, bie bafjin roanbern, um i§re oerl'orene ©efunb^eit burd) ben ©eBraud^ ber 33aber unb 
burc^ bag milbe l^lima roieber ju erlangen. (S)a id^ ber ©igcnfdjaften ber cerfdiiebenen Querten 
in einem friil^eren Jurjen Sluffa^e gebad)t, fo !fomme id^ i^ier nidjt barauf juriid.) ®g finb aud^ 
f. g. SCrmenBiiber bafelbft errid^tet. ^ad) bem Seftd^tigen, Sefitl^Ien unb 3Ser!often ber bampfenb 
l^ei^en DueHen (von 140 — 160 ©rab ^af)renf)eit) ftieg id) ing Xl^ai I)tna&, unb bemfelBen enttang 
roeiterper ®ifenBa!^n— bie BalbDon 9^orb nad) SBeft aBBog — Big p einent ^arL Sa id^ aBet; 
fa'f), baji bie UntertjaUung in einem aBftdjtlid) — l^offentUd) nid)t fiir ung — ceranftalteten §unbe= 
!ampf Beftanb, roofiir man nod^ 25 ©entg Beja^ten foKte, ging id^ nid^t l^inein. ©old^er Sfjier^ 
quaterei mot^te id) felBft nid)t einmal n al^ e fein. '^d) roenbete mid) jur ©tabt gu %u^ juriidju- 
!el^ren. ^citte ic^ gerou^t, roag id) erft ju fpat evful^r, fo roare id^ noc^ etxva -| 3}JeiIe jroifdjen ben 
§ugeln roeiter gegangen, roo id) ju bem einsigen ©teinBrud) in ber ©tabt (fo fagt man) ge!emmen 
roare, roo b e r §ornftein geBrocgen roirb, aug roerd)em bie f e i nft en Be!annten ^olirfteine gefertigt 
unb nad) alien 2:()eilen ber SBeU »erfd)id't roerben. 

®er §ornftein Bitbet einen fel^r gro^en ^Beftanbtl^eil jener gangen S8erg= unb ^iigelreil^e 



14 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

aber er ift burd^gdngig con grbl&erem Itorn, al§ ber au^ befagtem 33ruc!)e. Sluf bem 'SiMvoe^t an 
itterjreven ^ornfteinfjitgetu t)orbeipaf[trenb, nal^m id^ einige !Icinere tofe ©tiide mtt, Don benen 
je^t elneg mic jum ©cijcirfen meiner SRefjer prac^tig bient. 2[u§ jenem 33rucl^ roirb bte Un3e fiir 

15 Sentg uerfauft. S)cr mcr!n)urbigen2)[neinanbervei[)ung con ^ornfteinl^ugeln, ©d)tefer[jiigeln 
unb (£ongtomerat=$i5geln ^abe id) in meinem uorlautigeu 33ert(^te fdjon erroiifint. ©traa 8 2Rei= 
len iDeiter tm Oebirge finbet man bie fi^onften 53crg!fiftaHe. ^n §ot ©pring§ Bilben fie einen 
S^anhel^axtxM; man fier;t ba ©tiide, in benen .Sjunbei-te Don ^:igmen, gro^e unb fi'eine, in ben 
TDunberItc|[tcn Sagen fid) aneiuanber gefiigl; ein3elne fleine roerben fiir 50 6ent§, bie gufammen^ 
gefeljten ^rad^t^g^emplare big ju $25.00 cerfauft. S)eg SKagneteifen^SrjeS f;abe \6) fd)on frii^er 
®i'H)a[)nung getljan. 

33ei meiner Siiicftunft befud)te icf) Jjrn. J?u6(er, ber Dor mefireren S^i^i^en oon fjier alg 'pa- 
tient baljingefommen raar unb fid; je^t in Befter ©efunb[}eit unb raoi;I§abenben Umftdnben befin- 
bet. @r l^att ein SoarbingljauS, (a), ^perfon ju $30.00 ben SRonat. gn ben §otetg roerben Diet 
pf)ere ?preife geforbe'rt unb bejaljlt. 

©troag nac| 7 Uf)r in mein Quartier juriicEgefel^rt, ging id), gleidijeitig mit Slnbern, gum 
2lbenbeffen. (Sine ©tunbe fpdter roar ber fe^r geraumige ©peifefaal gum 33aIIfaaI umgeroanbelt; 
benn un§ ju @^ren fanb am Slbenb ein S3aII ftatt, bei roetcfiem SRandie big gegen 3Korgen au§^iet= 
ten. Sie Samen Don ^ot ©pringg entfatteten babei t^ren 5teid)t[)um an raerti^Doittem ©djmud 
unb ©ammt= unb ©eibenlteibern mit langen ©d)Ieppen. Set biefer fd^auber^aften SRobe ift e§ 
gut, raenn — roie e§ I;ier ber g-aE roar — ber S3oben fdjon fauberift; man roiirbe fonft im ©taube 
crftid'en. Q'J.ev'jt rourben roieber l^od^ftglige Steben getjalten, mit jroed'entfpred^enbem ^nfjalt, qIM-- 
lid)n 2Beife nid^t oHjulange. Sann ging ba§ 2;an3en Io§. SDie SJid^ttanjer, roogu ic^ jaljlte, fam= 
welten fid^ in ©ruppen unb Derbrad^ten bie Qsxt mit ^taubern, roobei Don geit ju geit ber @au= 
men roieber mit ©^ampagner angefeud^tet rourbe, ben man ben fremben ©dften in einem "^teben- 
jimmer Irebenjte. 6^e idE) ju 33ette ging, mac^te idf) nod; einen furgen ©pajiergang, gu bem mid^ 
nod^ ba§ {^limmern ber ©terne einlub, bie an bem buntetblauen ^immet, groifd^en biefen 53ergen, 
Diet glanjenber Ieud)teten, alg roir in ber (Sbene fie ju feljen gerool^nt finb. 5iad) erquidenbem 
©d;tafe rourbe am anbern 2)lorgen ba§ ^^rii^ftiid^ eingenommen, unb nad^ freunblid;em SCbfd^ieb 
Derlic^en roir nad^ 8 U^r bie§ gefegnete ©tudfd;en ©rbe, Qcber auf bemfetben fyu[;rroer!, ba§ il^n 
l^ergebra'cf)t. ©inige a^eilen Don J^ot ©pring§, alg ber SBeg einen <pijgel I;inab|ii[;rte, ereignete fid^ 
ein UngUid: 2tn einem ber ^^^u^rroerle brad) bie J^ette am ©perrba(!en; ber nad;ftforbere SBligen 
roar ju na^e unb ber SBeg ju fd;mal, um ben ^ferben bie 3"9el laffen ju !6nnen, roefifjatb ber be' 
treffenbe ,11'utfc^er, um bie ^affagiere be§ Dor if;m befinbUd;en SBagenS nid^t ju gefdfirben, bie 
ipferbe mit alter 5?raft juriidljielt. S)abei ti^at bag tin!e S)eid)letpferb mel^r atg feine ^flid;t unb 
ipferbe unb 2Bagen rourben baburd^ nad^ bem Sliegetjaun tint'g am SBege t;ingebrangt, roobei eineg 
ber ^ferbe fo ungtiidlid^ unb mit fotd)er ©eroatt in bie Jiieget l^ineintrat, ba^ bag ^ufgeten!, roie 
abgef(^nitten, Dotlftdnbig Dom 'gu^e loggebrod^en rourbe unb nebenbei er{;iett eg eiue furd^tbar 
Itaffenbe SCunbe am obern Sijeit beg Unter!tefer§, i)a^ bag 33tut ftromenb flo^. ®ag arme 3:;i§ier 
gab gang eigent^iimlid^e ©d;merjengtaute Don fid), roie id^ fie nie juDor Don einem 5pferb gel^ort 
|atte. S)er ©§eriff, ber ung mit anbern §erren bag ®eleite gab, f)atte einen 3'iaDi):3{ci)oIuer bet 
fid^ unb erlofte eg burd^ einen rootjtge^ietten ©d;u^ con feinen Seiben. Di^ne roeiteren Hnfalt ging 
iie §af)rt bann roeiter big jur ©ifenbafjn, auf ber roir ben 3Ieft beg SBegeg big SWatoern juriicfteg; 
ten. Unfer atter 3ug nal^m ung t)ier gur 2Ceiterfat;rt nad^ ©ubroeften roieber auf. Sa id^ bag 
§auptfad;tic^fte beg auf biefer ©trede 2Ba[)rgenommenen in bem mel^rerroatjnten friii^ern Serid^t 
bereitg an^efiil^rt l^abe, trage id^ l^ier nur SBenigeg nad§, bag mir d^arocteriftifd^ erfc^ien: 1. 3In 
einem §attepunlte, fiibtid; dou Statoern, ftanb id; gerabe auf ber ^tattform beg SSageng, atg ein 
SfJeger unb ein SBei^er ben Quq bcftiegen; Se^terer fd)ien ein ©ifenbal^n=33ebienfteter ju fein, unb 
rourbe Don Seiiionb gefragt, roagerfuc^e, S)ie Stntroort tautete: That damned nig-ger has to 
hunt for the fleece of au old man, but I guess he'll not find it. ®r meinte natiirlic:^ einen at= 
ten3JJann; nic^t feinen ^elj, ober fein g-ett; unb biefe S3itberfprad£)e bei biefem rol^ augfe^enben 
39ienfd)en fiet mir auf. Sei bem §eraug!ommen beg ©c^roarjen— eine gro^e, frdftige gigur— fing 
er ^anbet an roegen "that damned nigger," inbem er fagte, bieg fei nid;t fein 9^ame unb er Der^ 
Jbitte fid) benfetben ein fiir altemat ; ber 2tnbere remonftrirte jornig, aber roag, fonnte id^ nidE)t 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 15 

niel^r werftel^en, unb o& e§ §iebe abgefe^t, raei§ ic^ aud^ nid^t, ba ber 3"S i^ biefem SCugenbltcEe 
raeiter raffelte. 2. '^n 2lc!abe(p:^ia raurben SCbenbS bie ubUi:^en 3ieben gel^alten, in einem ^otel 
am 33a^n]^ofe. ©iner ber Siebuer !am auf ben Jlrieg ju fprec^en unb briicl'te feine Sefriebigung 
ijber bie Sffial^rnel^mung au^, bafe ber bamatige gegenfeitige £)a§ nun KoKig oerfd^rounben fei unb 
einer fld^ mel^r unb mefjr Befeftigenben ®intrad£)t 5p[a^ gemac^t l^abe; ba^unferegegenfettigen^ns 
tereffcn fid; inniger nn'i) immer inniger DeVi'd^meljen u. f. ro. Sei biefen ^fjrafen ertonte in ^au= 
fen breimal aug ber i^e^Ie etneg jungeu 2)Zanneg (Boy's) ein Saut, gang afjnlid) bem, ben dn jun- 
ge? ©d^roein pren la^t, tcenn man e^ am ©dinjanje feft^att, racil^renb eg fortlaufen mill. Slettere 
Siirger uerroiefen il)m feine Unart, ben fremben (Saften gegenitber, abet ol^ne ©rfolg, hi^ fie il§n 
enblic^, nad^ ber britten ^robu!tion feiner ©d^roeinefunft, am ©d)lan)itlic^ pacEten unb unter ge« 
rcaltigem ©trciuben i^inaugioarfen. Db bieg roirfUd^ nur bie llngejogen^eit eineg roI)en, brannt= 
roeinDoIIen jungen 33urfd^en roar ; ober ein 3eid;en, ba§ ber SSuHan nod^ innerlid^ glu^t, roage id^ 
nidjt 3U eutfdtieiben. 3. (Siner ber §erren ©bitoren, ein §)err 2;i^oma§ con ©tjicago, l£)atte in einer 
SJebe in SittIe3iod" ganj befonberg Betont unb eg bann in 2tvfabe(pl^ia feierlid) roieberl^olt : bofi 
2lr!anfa3 unb Stmerifa im ©anjen bag raerben miiffe, roag man ro ii nf d^ e , ba^ eg roerbe, n ur 
&urdE) SCmerifaner, nid^t aber burd) ©ingeroanberte, umfomel^r f o, a[g bie beut« 
fd)e (Siniuanberung anfange — roenn nid^t gang aufjufjoren, fo boc^ bebeuienb fid) ju oerminbern." 

®er 3iadE)ia^foUte roaf)rfd)einlid) nur bie^arte beg3Sorberfa^eg fiirbieanroefenDenbeutfd^en 
Dl^ren etroag mitbern. 3Bag bi!tirt fold^e ©prad^e ? 3ft eg bogroidiger Jlnoronotl^ingigmug, ober 
unfd)ulbige 93Unbfjeit? ^d^ morf)te bod) biefen §erren bie jroei 2lmeri!a nebeneinanber jeigen Ion= 
nen: bag eine, roie eg je|t ift, in %ola,^ ber finanjiell, unb an geiftiger unb forperlid^en 2lr= 
beitgf'raft fo reic^en namentUc^ beutfdjen ©inrcanberung ; unb bag anbere, roie eg fein roiirbe, 
roenn — ic^ roill nur fagen — feit 50 ^a^ren gar feine ©inroanberung ftattgefunben l^atte. ^d^ 
gtaube ein fold)eg Silb mii^te bie jdmmerlic^e i^ur^fid^tigfeit fold^er §erren furiren. ^iad^ ber 
oben angefii^rten 2lpoftrop[;e braudt)t man ®ud^ alfo nid)t — nein ! man roill ©ud^ nid^t in 2lr!an= 
fag, Zi)ic ©ingeroanberten; §err 2;t)omag ber ©ingeborene mu| ba§ roiffen ! 3SerfudE)t'g aber ben= 
nod^, roenn il^r rooUt unb fe^t, ob man ®ud^ J^inaiisjagt. ^ta| fiir 3SieIe unb ©elegenl^eit eine 
§eimat^ ju griinben unb fein ©liidf ju finben ift reidjlic^ t)orI;anben. 

Sa id; bie Don 2lrfabe[p£)ia nac^ Sittle 'Mod, von ba nad; {Joreft ©itp (etvsa 40 aJieiten roeft* 
lid^ oon 9Jtempf)ig) unb roieber juriic! unb ^eim nad^ ©t. :youig, in ©rmangelung Don roeiteren in- 
tereffanten ©injelfieiten, nid^t in ber bisfier eingeJ^altenen ermiibenben SGeife gu befc^reiben ge^ 
benfe, fo ei(e id; jum ©c^lu^, inbem id; nur nod; erroaf)ne, ba^ bie gafjrt burd^ bie ^ron SRoun* 
taing red^t i)iibjd)e, ja romautifd;e 5part[)ien bietet. 2tr!abia, roo roir ju 3rcittag fpeiften, foroie 
^iebmont finb groei rounberfc^on, in Ueblid^en 2;i;al!effetn, an ber '^ton 3}iouutain S8af)n gelegene 
^la^e. ©troa 7 Ul^r 2lbenbg !amen roir in ©t. 2ouig an, unb 3eber ging nun feineg eigenen SSes 
geg, entroeber in ein §oteI, ober eine Oelegenl^eit aufjufudien um auf bem fiirjeften 2Bege nac§ 
§aufe 5U i'ommen. ^c^ fuc^te greunb SRerj auf, hem xci) meir.e 3ieife=©rlebniffe mittt)eilen mu|te, 
id^ tj)at eg aber nid)t fo roeitlaufig, roie ^fjnen gegeniiber, roertfie Sefer unb Seferinnen ! roofiir er 
mir geroi^ banfbar ift. 

©g ging mir aber biegmal roie mand;en ^^-rauen, roenn fie gur Sfiad^barin fommen — 3ln; 
fangg roiffen fie laum ba^ fie etroag ju fagen i)aben: aber einmal im QnQe, ba road^fen bie MU 
rtuten beg ©epiauberg gan^ unoerfetjeng ju ©tunben. 3[Benn bann aud^ ber SJJann cergebUd^ auf 
bag SDiittag= ober Slbenbeffen roartet ; ober roenn aud) bie J^inber unterbeffen ju §aufe bie bren* 
nenbe iiampe umroerfen unb bag §aug anftedEen ; rcag tf)ut'g ! „33ergniigen mufi finb,". — Sarum 
iaid)tg fiir ungut ; eg ift gefd^el)en ! 



16 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

^te ,,T>euti^e ^eiiun^f** Wn^catimf Sotoa* 

3. SB. mwicti 

SurdE) bie^reunbUd|!eitbe§ Sld^t. 3.3«.SougPoroug^, Sanb=6ommif[ionar bev©t. SouiS 
Sron aRountain unb ©outwent 33arjn, unb be§ jQerrn ©ol. %. S3. WxU§, ©runbetgent^um§ogent 
unb §erau§ge6et beg „©pmt of 2trfanfa§," rcurbe un§ eine ®in(abung ju ber „2lr!anfaS®bitonal 
®ECur|tDn" ju S^eiL SJon 250 ®ingelabenen toaren etxoa 120 3tebacteureunb 3?cprafentanten ber 
leitenben3eitungen oon3ainoi§,S"biana, Dt)to, ^pennfgtcama, a}Itc^tgan, aBisconfm, Qoroa, aJJtf:= 
fouri, ^anfaS, 2lr!anfa§ unb ©atifornien anioefenb. 2tm 21&enb be§ 28. ©eptemfier Berfammeltett 
rair un§ SCtle auf bem Sepot ber ©t. £., S- 2)J- ""i* ©• 9^- ^' w ®t- Souig, um per Sampf gen 
©iiben 311 fal^ren.— ®er estrajug Be[tanb aug 4 ^uEtnan palace ©raraing 3loom ©teepino| ©arg, 
^parlor ^Cagmagen unb eiuer baggage 6ar. SCbenbS 9 U|r fe|te fid^ ber gug in Seraegung, mir 
raarfen un§ in 2fiorpf)eu§ Strme, unb feci STageganbrurf) Befanben rair un§ fdgon in bem aefilid^en 
Strf aufag. ®er erfte pa^, ben rair befdjauten, raar 

W a X f , 
ber ^Kerminug ber alien ©t. S. unb 3. 2)J. 33a^n. SBir fatten nur raenig ©etegenl^eit, bie llmge- 
genb gu befidE)tigen, benn ^ebermann brangte ^xim g-riififtiid, raetdjeg ung av.<^ jdion in 

m al n nt S^i&gc, 
Sarcrence ©0., erroartete. 5?ad^ bem ©fjen befudjten rair bie Umgegenb unb fanben ha^ 2anh von 
trefflid). 3fleic^ an aBaffer f)at bag ©ounti) roeber 2)ZangeI an ^olj nod) an prairie.— Unfer nadjfter 
Slufent^attgort war 

TOO fid) bie „Subfonia Unioerfitat" befinbet, bie burd^ iiEiren guten 3iuf in aKen ©iibftaaten Be!annt 
ift. S)ie Unioerfitat ftef)t unter ber ^eitung oon 9ieo. SSenj. 2;[;oinag, roeld^er §err bie (Siite l^aite, 
ung ein ©ircutar iifier bie ©ntfteljung unb gortfdjritte ber i^e^ranftalt ju ilberreidjen. ^n biefer 
©egenb ift ein ouggejeid^neter SSoben fUr SaumraoKe. Ser nadjfte ^altepta^ roar 

Q i til t m^ d, 
roof elbft rair unter SO^ufi! unb ^^urrafirufen empfangen rourben. S)ie ©aftfreunbfd^aft ber Sittle 
atodEer rourbe ung fd^on in ©t. 2ouig geriUjmt, aBer roie erftaunten roir, atg roir fafien, ba^ fid) bie 
^eroorragenbften 33Urger ber ©tabt formtid) um ung ftritten. Sd^ wit nod^ fiinf anberen §erren 
^atte bie ©^re, ber ©aft oon §errn %l]o^. Saffertt) ju fein, roelc^er fiir ung ein ©ffen ^atte gu6erei= 
ten kffen, bag roa^rfjaft lufulUf^ roar. $er Saffertri ift einer ber l^eroorragenbften ^aufleute beg 
©taateg unb director ber Duita ^o[)tengefeUfd)aft. Sn feinem ^aufe l^atten roir auci) bag aSer= 
gniigen, bie Setanntfd^aft ber ^rciulein 5polf, ©teroart unb Sluggpatt) unb ber ^yraueapt. ©onrabt 
ju macfien, roetdje S)amen ung burc^ il^re Siebensroiirbigfeit bie ©tunben fo rafc^ oertrieBen, rote 
gjiinuten. SBa^renb beg 3tac^mittagg Befidjtigten roir, unter Segleitung oon §errn Saffertt), bie 
©tabt. Sm ©^amber of ©ommerce l^atten roir ©elegenl^eit, eine ©urife p fel^en, roeld^e nidt)t roe* 
niger alg 57 ^funb roog. ©benfaHg l&efid)tigten roir bovt ilol^Ien, bie an §arte ben Slntljracite 
gleid)!ommen. 23on ba gingg nad) bem Seferaum ber §erren X. 33. 3}tiIIg u. ©0., roelc^eg Unterj 
nel^men biefe §erren oor etroa bret 2Jfonaten in'g £e5en riefen; 800 3eitungen finb bafelBft jum 
Sefen aufgelegt, unb ift ein grofjereg berartigeg Unternel^men, alg ©f)icago ober ©t. £ouig aufroeis 
fen lann. Stbenbg l^atten roir ein 33an!ett in ©oncorbia=^3afIe, roeldjeg ung bie 33urger oeranftat; 
teten unb bei m^ld)im eg feljr luftig i^erging. — UeBer Sittte dtod im StUgemeinen ju fprec^en, follte 
jebod) uufere^anptaufgabe fein. Sittle 9iocf ift bie ^auptftabt oon 2lr!anfag unb ^ulagf'i ©ountr),. 
I^at eine ©imDofjuerjaE)! oon 20,000, oerjd)iebene geitungen, roorunter aud6 eine beutfc^e, fe[;r 
gro^e @efdjdftgt)aufer, aber leiber !eine gaBri!en. ©ifenbai^nen, roeld^e jel^t fc^ou gebaut finb, finb 
bie ©t. Souig, Sron 3Wountain unb ©outfjern, 3Jfemp^ig unb kittle Siod unb bie Sittle 9?od unb- 
f^'ort ©mitt) 33al^u.— ^ulagfi ©ountij I)at 40,000 ©inroofjner, 33 ©djulpufer unb roag eine »aupt= 
fad;e ift — feine ©cf)ulben. 

^riiE) am ®onnerftag SWorgen mad^ten roir ung auf ben SBeg nac^ §ot ©pringg; in 

tsa a I 1) c r E . 
©tation rourben roir aug unferm fiijjen ©ditummer biird) benStuf : "Malvern, Breakfast ready !" 
aufgefc^redt, roorauf fid; alle Sangfd)[afer fogleic^ auf bie Seine madE)ten unb an tien §otettifd^ 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 17 

eilten. 32ac5 llnterfuc^itng ber oerfc^iebenen bort tt)acf;[enben ©etretbe rourben roir nad^ bemSepot 

Bcorbert, aUroo ung 4S2a3cu bev c^ot Spring^ engfpurigeii SSaljit enoarteten. — ^yort gtng'3 burc^ 
eine lutlbe ©egenb, njekrje iilJeratt biirc^ i^cen auSriejeic^neteit Se^m telannt ift, etraa 9]Ke{len, alg 
unSinttgetrjeilt wurbe, ba^ [jiet baS ®nbe ber ^af)n fei, iinb bafj btefeI5e nod^ tiid)t btS naiS) ben 
©pringg tjottenbet fei. 2Btr rourben nun in alTe tnoglicljen 3lrlen con j^u^rroerten gefperrt, t)on 
benen ein alter S'^rmerroagen, iiOer ben 93i;etter gum ©tl^en getegt jourben, noc^ nidjt ba§ 
Sd)llmm[te roar. ^ gd^ l^atte bag &IM, auf ba§ ®ad) einer ©tage=Goac^ ju !ommen, urn roelc[;en 
Spia§ roir ung Sltle ftritten. ©nblic^ ging'S oorraarH aber, o ^eittwe, eine fotcTie 3ioab roar nod) 
feinem con itn3 gu ©c[idjt gefommen. SeOenSgefaljr roar bei jebem ^ferbefcfiritt. SlOer roie 2ine§ 
auf biefer 2BeIt ein ©nbe tuntmt, fo auc§ bie[e ^al^rt, unb urn 11 U^x SSormittagg Defanben roir 
un3 in 

JDiefer ^Ia$ ift Beriiljint burd) [cine l^ei^en QueCen, nub roie un§ unfer j^it^rer, §err ®ol. 
©mit^, ec!Iarte, lann in uielcn berfelben innerfjalO 15 -DZinuten ein (Si roeic^ gefotten roerben. 9iad^ 
ber 2{n!unft im §oteI, (id^ mit nod^ oerfdjiebenen anberen §erren |atte bie ©f;re, im Slrlington 
§oteI, bent feiuftcn im ©taate, einquartirt ju roerben), rourben roir von 3)r. 3Jector ju einem^abe 
eingelaben, roeldjeS xtn§ joId6en 3lppetit bereitete, baji roir ©on ber reicEjen ©peifefarte fe^r oiel 
auSfudjten. ?iacf;mittag§ befuc^ten roir tnit ©oL ©mit^ bie DueKen unb bie §auptgefd;afte ber 
©tabt. §ot ©pringg i)at jei^t eine ©inrool^nerja^l Don 4000.— 2l&enbg rourbe un§ ju (Sl^ren ein 
gro^artiger S3aE im Slrlington gef^alten, an roeldjem bie ©lite oon 2lr!atifag t^eilna^m. ^d; ^alle 
aud^ bag ©liic!, eiuen altenunb boc§ jungen SRuScatiner, %. W. got), bafelbft gu finben; §reb l^at 
eine ©teUe alS (Sler! im ©arl ^au3. — Urn 9 Uljv anbern 33?orgeng rourben roir von unfern „3Jip= 
penbred^ern" abge[)oIt unb id) cerfd^affte tnir bieimal einen ©i^ im S""em ber iliutj'c^e, aber id^ 
roare bieSmal beffer auf bem SDac^ geroefen, benn iingefar)r brei 3JIeilen von ber ©tabt f)aite unfer 
SBagen ein „3Junaroa9," bem id^ ba§ Serreijjen meincr §ofen, ©tiefeln unb Uf)v gu oerbanfen 
^atte. SRac^mittagg 3 Uf)v lamen roir in SJJaloern an unb oon bort begaben roir uhS nad^ 

allroo un§ ein „58arbecue" erroartete. 9Ir!aberpr)ia ift eine ©tabt oon 2000 ©inroo^nern unb roar 
roai)renb be3 le^len Kriege§ ein §auptftapelpla| ber iJonfoberirten. — Sie Samen t)on 3lrt'abelpr}ia 
finb iiberauS gucorEommenb unb fonncn roir wit unferem ©ollegen von ber „^itt§burgi) Slboance" 
fagen: ''The beauty and accomplished manners ofthej-oung ladies were a source of gen- 
eral remark among the editors-— particularly that portion of the editorial fraternity wlio 
fclfc that they had left no ties at home in the matter of matrimonial alliances." Surc^ bie 
©iite »on §rn. S), ^^-lannigan, ©oljn von ©oud. j^Iannigan, rourbe mir bie SSaumrooltencuitur 
erDiart. §err j^I'ii^tiigatt l^at eine ber grofjten fptantagen im ©taate unb l^atte bie j^'^eunblidfiMt, 
mir SSaumrooUe fiir „unfeve nlirblic^en j^-eunbc/' roie er fld^ auSbriidte, mitgugeben. ©amStag 
3Korgen fanb ung roieber in Sittle 3Iod^, oon roo id^ mid) mit ber SJielirgaf)! ber Sefud^er gen 

W t m » X} i 8. 
roanbte. 5Rad^ bem ^yrii^ftiitf begaBen roir un5 nad) bem ©epot ber 3Kempl^iS u. Sittte 3iod 93al^n^ 
roofetbft fd)onein ©strajug auf ua3 roartete. SBir f d)ifften ung ein, a[g roir fdjonnad) roenigen 2JJi= 
nutenburc^ "ozn ?{uf auigsjd^redft rourben : '-Look at the beautiful prairies !" SSal^r^aftig, folc^' 
ein ^rairielanb l^atte noc^ feiner oon unS gefc^en. 3Jtit aHer Sampflraft, bie auf biefer AJinieon* 
geroenbet roerben barf, «ngefa[)r 12 311eilen bie ©tunbe, Jamen roir in 

^- o t c ft 6: i 1 1) 

©t. ^-ranciS So., an, roo roir oom ©tabtratl^ beg Drleg empfangen rourben. goreft ©itg iji 
eirt^k^ mit 3000 ®inroor)nern unb (£ountg=©i| oon ©t. grancig ©o. S" ®efeEfd^aft unfereS 
freunblid)cn ©a[troirtr)g, ^u.'CiQe Sole, Befudjten roir bie Umgegcnb ber ©tabt unb fanben ncd^ ge* 
nauer Unterfudjung, ba§ ber SBoben bort oortreffltd) ift. llm3JtitternadjtfamenTOir roieber in 
fitttle 3^o(f an, roofclbfl roir I Ufjr 3JJorgeng unfer Sllac^teffen unb gruf)[tiidE einnafjmen.— 2ln» 
bern Xa'i,^ trafen roir roieber in 

ein, roo roir unS oerabfdjiebeten un'o S^ber fetner ^eimat^ gaging. 



18 THE NEW AJKKANBAS TRAVELEES. 

®er S)anf, ben roir ben ^errcn S- 3Ji. SougPorougl^ unb X. S, skills fd^ulbcn, la^t ftd^ 
nid^t itt 2Borten auSbrucf'en, benn bie[e §erren I)atten 2tKe§ fo gut unb fo fein orrangirt, bafj 
tt)ir un§ Sille raunberten. — SBir 21 He nat;nten ba§ 33erou^tfein ntit i^etm, bafe Slrfanfag etner 
ber fd^onften unb in fpateren geiten einet ber leitenben ©taaten ber Union raerben raitb. 2)a§ 
Sanb in Slrfanfag !ann mit folgenben SBorten 16efc^rieBen roerben: 2BoItt i^r prairie, ge^ nad) 
2lr!anfa§, wolii ii)x ^otgtanb, gel^t na^ 2lrJanfa§, roollt il^r SSergroer!, ge^nad^ 2lrfanfa§, roollt 
tl^r ^ol^Ien, ge!E)t nod^ 2Ir!anfag unb fo fort. Sunge Seute fd^on foHten gar nid)t oerfaumen, 
na^ 2lr!anfag ju ge^en, ba fel6ft ba§ fiefte Sanb t)on $1— $10 ^ Slder geJauft roirb. aBeijen^, 
^orn=, SaumrooKens unb ®ifenpro6en !i3nnen auf ber Office b. 331. gefel^en roerben. 2)ie 33e= 
iDol^ner finb frieblic^ unb gut)or!onimenb unb an ben ^rieg rcirb nid^t mel^r gebatf}t Urn oieten 
2lnfragen ju geniigen, roollen roir nod^ fiemerifen, ha^ bie ©djujarjen im Slttgemeinen ntit i§rem 
Soofe jufrieben finb, unb ba§ td^ perfontid^ etlid^e fa|, roelt^e mtr fagten: 'i)a^ fie Iie6er 
iDxeber einen „3Kaffa" l^atten. — 3unt ®d^lu| no(^ bie Sefd^tiiffe, bie einftimntig anges 
nommen rourben, urn unfern ^^i-eunben tnt ©iiben unfern tiefgefiil^Iten San! augjubriicfen : 

„Sa rcir bie freunblid^e ©inlabung, joeld^e an bie ^reffe be§ SJtorbroefteng erging, um 
ben ©taat 2lr!anfa§ gu fiefud^en, onna|nten, unb i>a mix ba§ Sanb gefel^en, tnit einem S^i^eil 
feiner ©inrool^ner gefprod)en unb feine (Saftfreunbfd^aft genoffen l^aben, fo ift e§ unfere ^flid^t, 
unfere ©timme pren ju laffesi unb eg fei ba^et," 

„33efd)Iof fen, ba| ber ©taat 2lr!anfa§, inbent er „feinen Sliiden ber SSergangenl^eit 
juJel^rt unb mit ooQer ^offnung in bie gii^unft fc^aut, tnbem er Sllleg aSergangene nergi^t 
unb wit lid^ten 2lugen in bie 3"^""!* 6Kcft," ben l^od^ften 3{ang in ber Sruberfd^aft ber ©taa* 
ten einnimmt, inbem eji-nid^t nur ber alien B'^^SSC l^ulbigt, feine Siefce fiir ba§ gefomntte Sanb 
jeigt unb auc§ feinen Jfifjeil an ber nereinigten SJerraaltung tragen will, fonbern aud^ eine ganje 
3?eaIifattott ber Briiberti^en Siebe einftil^rt, bag jnad^t 2lr!anfa§— ntit feinem l^errlic^en ^tima 
unb feiner nod^ nid^t Be!annten SBol^tl^a&en^eit — ju einent ©arten oon SCmetiJa, auf hen ber 
traurige, f)avtar!6eitenbe, frierenbe j^armer beg 3iorbenS a[§ fein Slf^l fiir fommenben Comfort 
unb ©(iidEIid)feit fe^en lann. 

„33ef d)loffen, bag roir SCCe roiHig ben ©taat 3lrlanfag ©otdien empfel^len, bie eine 
comfortable §eimat^ l^aben rooHen, ba rair miffen, ba^ feine !KiEionen Slder eben fo einlabenb, 
bag Sebeit unb ©igent^um e&en fo ftd^er finb, alg in irgenb einem ©taate ber Union, unb ha wir 
roiffen, ba^ ein freunblid^er (Smpfang ^eben etroartet, ber feine ©tcibte befud^t, ober in feiner 
SBol^l^abentjeit fid^ nieberlaffen mU. 

„S e f d^ 1 f f e n , ba§ roir unfern ttefgefiil^lten 2)an! ben §erren Stomas 2IHen, 21. SB. 
©op^er, S. W. Soug^oroug^, %. S. 2RiKg u. ©o., hen ©I ^afo unb Snbepenbent ©tage ©om* 
pagnieen^ unb hen 33urgern von Sittle ^ioS, §ot ©prtngg, 2lr!abelpl^ia, aJialuern, SBalnut 3fiibge 
jc. augfpred^en, ha fie 2tIIe o^ne 2lugna!^me ung Bel^iilflid^ raaren, mit Sanb unb Seuten BeEann^ 
ju mac^en, unb mix fonnen begl^alB ol^ne SebenEen erEtaren, ba^ ^[rEanfag einer bee beften ©taat 
ten fur ^^armer, Winex^ unb 'Q-a'bxitanten ift." 



OPINION OF THE GERMAN PRESS. 19 



We extract from the "Anzeiger dea Westens"" its report of the display of Arkansas 
products at the St. Louis Fair : 

3n einer beftfieibenen ©tfe be§ ^zli^^, ba§ fiir bte Piaffe E (©etretbc, gelbs unb ©arten* 
frii^te, D16[t unb SBein) errid^tet tcurbe, befinbet ftc§ aud^ bte 2lu§fteHung ber ^robufte be§ ©taa* 
e§ 2tr!anfa§. ©ie roar ung, bie roir itt ^o^t l^auftger SSefud^e ben ©taat unb f eine 33er)ol!erung 
fieffer al§ bie meiften iiBrtgen ©taaten int ©iiben fannten, t)on ganj Befonberm S^tereffe. ^ 9luS 
bem ©taate, oon beffen ^robucten man Bi^i^er nur SaumrooIIe unb SBaftermelonen fannte, beffen 
SeoiJUerung ueBen bee t)on j^loi^iba rool^l bie uerroitbertfte tm gangen Sanbe roar, — nor beffen 
©iimpfen unb UeBerfd^roemmungen ©inem graute: beffen potitifc^e uub ^inanjoerl^altniffe ein 
einjiger ©rauel von Wnroiffen^eit unb ©d^urferei geroefen ftnb,— au§ bemfetBen, in ©pottliebern 
unb SBi^eteien alg „3f{adEenfad^" Be!annten, einem rotr!Ud^en ©taate nur bem Xiamen nad^ al^nlis 
d^en ©emetnroefen, fel^en roir auf einmal eine ^iilte con ^probuften jufammengefteEt, bie nid^t 
nur Bon bem gro^en Steid^tl^um beg SobenS, fonbern aud^ won bem Xriebe ber SBeooIIerung jeu= 
gen, i^n regelmaf^ig gu berairt^fdjaften unb jur §eimatl^ flet^iger f^amiUen gu madden. 

Sie l^errlidjen Dbftarten, bie fd^onen 3J5eijen=, ^afer^ unb ^irfeBiinbel ; bie rieftgen SBelfc^s 
fornftengel unb il^re coloffalen Sle^ren finb feine ©rjeugniffe ber 9iegerat6eit, fonbern e§ ftnb 
offenBar eingewanberte, roei^e Sanbe, bie bie§ StKeS'bem jungfrauUc^en Soben »on 2tr!anfa§ cB^ 
geroonneu l^aBen. S)ie mannigfad^en roo^lgeorbneten ©jemplare con Sleis, ^inh unb ^upferer^ 
sen finb ben ©^ad^ten nid^t tjon 3Jegerl^anben entnommen roorben, unb e§ finb geroif; leine el^e* 
maligen ©ftaoen geroefen, bie alle Siu^plger au§ ben SBalbern oon 2lr!Eanfa§ pfammenfu^ten, 
fie l^oBeltcn unb ju biefer SCugftellung jurid^teten; fonbern e§ finb bie SCnfctnge einer flei^igen, 
inteUigenten roei^en Secotferung, beren Sl^atigfeit un§ l^ier in bie Slugen fpringt. 

©d^on ber ©ebanle, fi^ Bei einer fol'd^en SluSftettung ju Betl^eiUgeir; fd;on ber SSunfd^ auf 
©rjeugung beg ©lauBeng, bo^ 3lrlanfa§ auc^ ein cicilifirteS ©emeinroefen roerben !onne, in roel» 
d^em inteEigei^te SlrBeit reid^en £oI;n werfpric^t unb, eine gro^e SRannigfaltigfett ber 33erufe, o^ne 
bie ftc^ !eine geBilbcte ©efeUfd^aft benfen Ia|t, mcglid^ tft ; fdE)on ber 2;rieB in bie 3letl^e ber l^o^er 
entroicEelten ©taaten eintreten ju roofien, roie il^n biefe 2lu§ftellung unjroeibeutig lunb giBt,ift neu 
unb im l^od^ften ©rabe erfreultd^ fiir 2lrEonfa§. 

Unftreitig bo§ grb^te aSerbienft um ben ©taat, neBen ben roadfern 3}Zannern, benen e§ in 
jiingfter geit gelungen ift, 2id)t unb Drbnung in ba§ potitifd^e ©l^aog t)on Slrfanfag ju Bringen, 
gebii^rt ber ©t. Soui§, S'^on ajJountain unb ©outl^erneifenBal^n^Qefellf^aft. ©g oerfte^ftd^ 
gang oon felBft, ba|, roenn fie bag 5puBU!um mit bem 3?eidE)tl^um unb ben gro^en notiirlid^en§itf§= 
quelten beg ©taateg, nad^ roetd^em unb burd^ roeld^en il^re Sal^n Big na(| ©alcefton l^inaB jiel^t, 
Befannt mad^t, eg roefentlid^ il^r eigeneg ^ntereffe ift, bag fie baburd^ fijrbern rcill. ©ie Bebarf fiir 
il^re foftfpielige Unternel^mung einen leBl^aften SSerfel^r an ^erfonen unb 5probu!ten ; fie Braud^t 
in 3lt!anfag unb Siejag einen aKar!t fiir unfere 3nbuftrie=^robucte, unb flei^iger SSerool^ner iener 
©taaten, bie bem Soben feine 9ieid^tpmer entloden, bamit fie biefelBen auf il^ren ©dfiienen ben 
©onfumentenber Sto^probucteim SRorbengufiil^renlonne. SiJer aBer !i3nnte leugnen, ba^fieju 
gleid^er ^zii bem ©taate 3lr!anfag einen unBejai^lBaren ®ienft bamit erroeift, 'aa'^ fie bie 33eooI= 
ferung ber l^bl^er gelegenen ^nbuftrieftdbte, ba^ fie namentlic^ ©t. Souig mit ben 9?eid^tl^iimem 
jeneg ©taateg unb mit feinen ^robucten intelUgenter 2lrBeit Befannt mad^t ? 

S)aju ge§ort jener roeitfel^enbe Unternel^mungggeift, burd^ ben ftd§ ameri!anifd^e ©efd§aftg= 
manner fo pufig auggeic^nen, unb biefer Unternel^mungggeift roar eg aud^, ber bie genannte Sal&n 
oeranta|te, SCHeg gu tl^un, roag in il^ren £raften ftanb, um bie Slugftelffung ber S3oben=®rjeugniffe 
oon 2lr!anfag auf ber biegja^rigen '^avt ju f orbern. ©ie l^at bafiir ©orge getragen, ba§ nid^tS 
fel^lte, roag ber roei^en ©inroanberung jeigen fann, ba^ fie nid^t me^r in einen ganj unb gcr oer= 



20 THE NEW ARKANSAS TRAVELERS. 

roilberten ©taat fommt, unb ntd^t§, na§ intetligcnter %Uifi an Urprobucten Bebarf, urn au3 bem 

©iaate einen blii^enben, fiir gute gamilien roiinfd^enStDettfien $eimatl^g[taat gu madien. 

* * * * 

» * * 

Sine umfic^tig georbnete ©ammlung con ©rgproben aug SlrlanfaS unb Sejag ^eroeift ben 
Sieid^t^um biefer ©taaten an ergiebigen ^upfer=, SBIe{=, giniE* wnb ©ifenetjlagern. 

<^etreit>e, ^-clDfiuc^te, ^hfi, flBeine, (Piaffe E.) 

S5{e im geftrigen 23Iatte Bef^rieBenen ©emii^e unb gelbfrilc^te nel^men bie ganje Dftnjanb 
be§ 3^11^^ si"' ^'^^ ^^2 '^'^^S^ 3lBtl^eiIung ber 2lug[teIIung Bel^erBergt. 3" 5)er SfJorbroeft^Stfe bef« 
felben i^at fid^ bie gron 3Kountain SBa^n tiau^lid^ niebergelaffen mit einer BriCanten 2lugfteBung 

t)Ott 

SJobenetsengniffen and SltlanfaS. 

©etreibeforten, raie SBeisen, ©erfte, ^afer, Soggen, SSud^tDetjen [inb in merfroiirbig f(j^5nen 
©jentplaren auSgefteEt. 

®ag ©etreibe ift am §alm Belajfen, urn bie Sange beg ©tro^g gu geigen. Sluggejei^nete 
^euforten (Blue grass unb Hungaritm grass,) foroie BUe von bret ^u^ ^ol^e fmb auSgeftellt, 
aUeaug ©ountieg in ber nad^ften llntgeBung uon Sittle fRod, 2lr!an[a§, ©c^bne ©jemplare con 
XabalSBlattern, bidfe ©iipartoffeln, trifd^e ^artoffetn, Slepfel, SBirnen unb ^firftrfie won augge* 
leid^netec Qualitcit finb auSgefteCt. (Sine caIifotntfd)e ©iu!e, 57 ^funb frfiroer, liegt unmittelBat 
neBen bem norbIidE)en ©ingang be§ ^sUe^ unb erregt allgemeine Serounberung. ^erner l^at bie 
Sron 2)?ountain SaJ^ngefellfd^aft aSelfc^Iorn auggefteQt, beffen §a(men 15 %n^ t)otf; finb unb bie 
6 Slel^ren am $alm i^aben. Slu^ SaumraoEe an ber ^flanse ift oorfianben, roag aber bie ineifte 
Sufmerffamleit erregt, ift ba§ prac^tige 10 "^ix^ l^ol^e ©rag (§eu.) S)ann ift ferner j\ur Sieprafen* 
tatiott ber ©rgeugniffe beg ©taateg 3lrlanfag ein fd^on gearBeiteter ©c^ran! ooQ von 2Ir!anfag 
2JiineraIien auggeftefit. S)er ©djronJ rourbe nur aug ^ofgarten gearbeitet, bie. in Slrfanfag felbft 
n)ud)fen, ncimlid): aS^ite^oGt), SBallnu^, (Efc^e unb ©eber. S)iefe tjevfd^iebenen ^ofjarten finb 
auf fef)r gefdjidteunb gefd)madDolIe2C'ei[emofai!artig bei ber ^erftettung biefeg ©ct)ran!eg eer^ 
roenbet toorben. 93on ben auSgeftellten 3KineraUen finb nameniUc^ grcei ®jemplare, ein gewalti' 
ger Sleiunbftlberersltumpen unb em 3JJagnetf{ein, gu errca^nen. Ser Se^tere raurbe in ber S'Ja^e 
t)on ^ot ©prtngg geroonnen unb gerodE)rt ben j^atrbefudjern gro^eg 2lmit|ement. S)er ©fein ift 
namlid^ an einem ©trtd aufgepngt roorben unb 3Joriibergef)enbe madien ft^ ein SBergnugen ba« 
caug, 9iager, ©tednabein, gebern, Heine ©c^tiiffel, Uf)rfd^lUffel u. f. w. an ben ajJagnet gu pngen, 
b;r fc^Uefitic^ einem Ssel "'it ftacEieligen Sorften tiidjt unciijnUcIi fa^. S)cr anbere ®rg!htnipen, 
ber erroa^nt rourbe, reiegt me^rerc i^unbert ^funb unb entpit 60 ^regent SSlei, 10 ^regent ©ilber 
unb 30 ^progent Quarg. ©r fommt aug ^ulaSti (Sountp, 2trlanfag. 

S)ie ©ruppe ber gi-'on SIKountain ^ai)n ©efellfc^aft ift eine fe^r intetej|ante. 



"Tliere is a tide in tlie affairs of len, wMcli, taifen at tlie flood, leads on to tortnne." 



THE TIDE OF FORTUNE SETS NOW TOWARDS 

/J 




Fertility in Soil! 

Variety in Productions ! 

Cheapness of Lands ! 

Accessibility to Markets! 

An early Spring, a late Autumn, a mild Winter, a healthful 
Climate, a low rate of interest, in the midst of an old and well- 
established community, with a reasonable prospect of a large 
increase in the value of real estate, form a 

COMBINATION 

Of advantages rarely to be met with, and of which it behooves 
the active and far-seeing to avail themselves while the opportu- 
nity is offered. 

"Make hay while the sun shines." 

"Strike while the iron is hot." 

I offer for sale in lots to suit the purchaser, and on terms to 
suit the times, 

One Million Acres of Choice Lands! 

Fulfilling every way the above recited conditions. Situated in 
that lovely and almost unknown region of Northwestern Arkan- 
sas lying between the cities of Little Rock and Fort Smith, and 
on each side of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway. Come 
and see for yourselves, and you will acknowledge that "the half 
has not been told" you. 

For further particulars address . 

W. D. SLACK, 

Land Commissioner Little Rock & Fort Smith Railway, 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 



LOOK TOWARD ARKANSAS 



LANDS FOR THE LANDLESS, 

HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS, 

Safe and Profitable Investments for the Capitalist, 



WE OFFER FOR SALE OVER 



One Million Acres of Land 



RICHEST PORTIONS OF ARKANSAS. 

Upon the Mississippi, Blacic, White, Cache, St. Francis, Little and Big Red, Arkansas, 
Saline, Ouachita and Little Missouri rivers and their tributaries, and on the line of St. Louis, Iron 
Mountain and Southern, Memphis and Little Rock, Little Rock and Fort Smith, Arkansas 
Central, and the Little Rock, Pine Bluff and New Orleans railroads. 

They are i'ich and various in quality, sustaining various productions. If you want 

TIMBER, PRAIRIE OR GRASS LANDS, 

Wheat^Oorn^Cotton^ Fruit, Coali Mineral Lands 

We will furnish you with a choice which cannot fail to suit, at prices which will 

With similar property in this or any other State, and we are fully satisfied that no better opportu- 
nity for those desiring to locate, or those buying as an investment, can anywhere be found than is 
presented in our State. Our climate is mild and healthful, our people are hospitably, and anxious 
for you to come and settle with them. Before you purchase elsewhei-e, call upon our agents or 
come direct to Little Rock, or rommunicate with us. Send for our desci'iptive lists of lands lor 
sale in all parts of the State. 



UPON APPLICATION WE CAN FURNISH TICKETS FROM 

ST. LOUIS and RETURN at REDUCED RATES. 



Liberal arrangements will be made with active and responsible parties fo act as our agents. 
Correspondence solicited. Address 

T. B. MILLS & CO., 

Little Rock, Arkansas. 



CHEAP H0MI5 IH THE SOUTHmWESTI 



LOW PRICES ! LONG CREDITS ! 



BailroaJ LanSs In kMm M lissoiiri. 



RICH AGRICULTURAL LANDS. 



PRODUCE CORJV, WSEAT, RYE, OATS, COTTOM, 
GRASSES, AJfD ALL VARIETIES OF FRUITS. 



THE BEST TIMBERED REGION IN THE UNITED 
STATES NOW ACCESSIBLE TO MARKET. 



Cabinet Woods, Wagon and Machine Timber in the Uplands, 
Ship and Stave Timber in the Bottoms. 



SIX MVI&ABLE RIVERS -RUN THROUGH THE LAND GRANT 



St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Raiiway Co. 

Invites attention to the magnificent lands owned by it in SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI and 
CENTRAL ARKANSAS," embracing an aggregate area of nearly TAYO MILLION FIVE 
HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES OF AGRICULTURAL, STOCK-RAISING, FRUIT- 
GROAYING AND TIMBERED LANDS. 

These lands lie in alternate sections on each side of the line of the road, and embrace every 
variety of SOIL, CLIMATE and PRODUCTION to be found in the State of Arkansas. 

The lands have been reserved from sale for twenty years, while the intermediate alternate 
sections have in a great measure been taken up, and are occupied by honest, industrious and 
hospitable people, who will give a warm welcome to all who may come among them to make homes. 

The railroad is fully completed and equipped, and runs daily first-class trains from ST. 
LOUIS and CAIRO to HOUSTON, GALVESTON and ALL POINTS IN TEXAS. 

TITOLiE] TO TSIEI Hu^IsrnDS 

Comes direct from the Government of the United States, and will be conveyed to purchasers 
free from incumbrance. 

For further information address Or 

THOMAS ESSEX, J. M. LOUGHBOROUGH, 

Assistant Land Commissioner, Land Commissioner, 

N. W. Cor. 5th and Market Sts., St. Louis, Mo. Little Rock, Arkansas. 



WMivrnm Sp^wmb 0mMWEMMisi^. 



PHILADELPHIA, U. S. AMERICA ><i=>€ 



MAY 10 to NOVEMBER 10, 1S76. 




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°fOO(x- ffMCTI^^TOCTaSglM^JLll^a^IOII^IIi^M - 



ARKANSAS STATE ADVISORY BOARD. 

H. L. FLETCHER, President. 
E. V. DEUELL, P^-„ pR^.^nF^x^ JAMES M. POMEROY, Secretary, 

LOGAN H. ROOTS, \ ^^^^ presidents. p q Lock Box 713, Little Rock, Ark. 

JOHN R. EAKIN, S. P. HUGHES, T. B. MILLS, 

W. J. MURPHY, R. G. JENNINGS, 

Executive Committee. 



GEO. W. LAWRENCE, 



Commissioners. 



GEO. E. DODGE, 



^ IVr TTTSr^ A IVn^T TC AT<TT-V T-lATTT-.^-N*T-v 



MERCANTILE AND RAILROA 



„ '■'^^Ji 



Printers^ Binders 



mmmm Jtatioirs, Jngravers and Jlecmypers. 



CONSECUTIVELY NUMBERED RAILWAY TICKETS. 

Southwest Corner of Second and Locust Streets, 



S^IIsTT LOTJIS. 



BURGLAR PROOF SAFES REVOLUTIONIZED I 




BEARD'S EXCELSIOR 

Burglar Proof Safes 



THE SPIRIT OF ARKANSAS! 

PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 

Is a large quarto, forty-eight column newspaper, with an eighteen column 

supplement, wholly devoted to setting forth properly the material 

wealth of tiie State and Southwest. It has carefully prepared 

articles, showing the quality and value of the 

I(kt\(i^, ¥irqbei^^^ ]V[it\ei^cil^ cii\(i ?i^O(itLdtioi\^ 

of Arkansas, well written or selected articles on farming, an Educational 
Department, edited by the President of the Teachers' Institute, Communica- 
tions from practical farmers, and news from tlie Southwest at large, in 
every nuinber. 

The SpiRrx is -a most desirable medium for advertisers, as it circulates not 
only in this State, but in all States of the Northwest. 



Largest Cireulation in Southwest, 

Subscription Price, $2.00 a Year. 

In Clubs of Twenty, $25.00 a Year. 



RATES OFAOVERTISINGFORNIXHEO ON APPLICATION, 



T. B. MILLS & CO., PUBLISHERS. 



In connection with the Spirit of Arkansas, we have established a free read- 
ing-room, where papers from all parts of the United States are kept on file. 
All visitors to Little Rock are cordially invited to call. 




LftiFORTHELftNOLESS! 



Homes for the Homeless 




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THE PLACE TO SEEK A HOME 



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LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, 

Transact a Real Estate Business in all its branches, deal in 

Municipal Bonds and other Local Securities, 

Publish the 




'IMT ©F ABKA 



devoted to the material interests of the} {State, 
and to encourage immigration. 






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